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Family blames mental health, abuse in Lynn triple-murder suicide

Family blames mental health, abuse in Lynn triple-murder suicide
Family blames mental health, abuse in Lynn triple-murder suicide 01:46

LYNN - The family devastated by a triple-murder suicide in Lynn says mental health and abuse played a role in the incident.

The Essex district attorney confirmed Wednesday that a woman shot and killed her father, brother-in-law and her brother-in-law's father, before killing herself.

Two young children are now fatherless, the Sharifi family wrote on an online fundraising page. A statement posted on their mailbox asked for privacy and blamed mental health and abuse.

The shootings began inside a home on Rockaway Street in Lynn Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors say a 31-year-old woman shot her 66-year-old father and 34-year-old brother-in-law before gunning down a third relative a half mile away.

"She then shot and killed a 56-year-old man inside his vehicle outside of 54 Laighton Street, and this man was her brother-in-law's father," Essex DA Jonathan Blodgett said.

The suspect was found dead in a car in a Stop and Shop parking lot with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I-Team sources say the woman legally owned the weapons.

Police have not yet released the names of anyone involved. 

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or for more resources visit their website. For more mental health resources, click here.

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