4 Texas family members found dead in suspected murder-suicide

Two parents were found dead alongside two of their children in a suspected murder-suicide, just weeks after their 4-year-old daughter drowned in a Texas swimming pool.

The family was identified on Tuesday as father Farman Sherwani, mother Layla Sherwani, and sons Mateen Sherwani, 2, and Shaheen Sherwani, 12, police said. Authorities discovered their bodies inside a residence in Allen during a welfare check on Monday. Police said another one of the home’s residents requested the check, telling officers they’d been locked out and that no one had come to the door after hours of knocking.

Each of the victims suffered gunshot wounds and authorities are investigating the bloody incident as a murder-suicide, the Star-Telegram reported. Police did not provide further details, including which family member they believed to be behind the killings.

Allen Independent School District spokesman David Hicks confirmed one of the victims was a fifth grader at Olson Elementary School. He told the Dallas Morning-News that a note was sent home to families earlier this week and that counselors would be made available to students in need.

“We are all shocked and saddened by this news,” principal Susanne Miller said in the letter. “I ask that you please keep the family and loved ones in your thoughts over the coming days and months.”

The violence comes just less than a month after the family, members of the local Muslim community, buried their 4-year-old daughter, Lyian Sherwani, KXAS reported. While the exact details surrounding her death remained unclear Wednesday, Imam Abdul Rahman Bashir, the religious director for the Islamic Association of Allen, said she drowned in a swimming pool accident three weeks ago.

In an email to NBC News, Allen Police Sgt. Johnathan Maness noted that police suspect the girl’s death “is definitely a factor that played into” the deadly violence earlier this week.