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Father of Sandy Hook victim dies in apparent suicide at Newtown Town Hall

Posted at 9:49 AM, Mar 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-25 11:49:27-04

NEWTOWN, Conn. – The father of a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting died in an apparent suicide early Monday, according to police.

Jeremy Richman, 49, of Newtown,  was found dead at the Edmond Town Hall by ambulance crews who were called to the scene.

Richman was the founder of the Avielle Foundation, which was named after his daughter Avielle who died in the Sandy Hook shooting in December, 2012. The foundation works to reduce violence in society.

Jennifer Hensel, Avielle’s mother, and Richman are among the plaintiffs in the court case against radio host Alex Jones.

Newtown Police public information officer Aaron Bahamonde said in a statement, “This is a heartbreaking event for the Richman family and the Newtown Community as a whole, the police department’s prayer are with the Richman family right now and we ask that the family be given privacy at this most difficult time.”

In the past week, two survivors of the Margery Stoneman Douglas shooting in February, 2018 died from apparent suicides.

Sydney Aiello, a 2018 graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, died by suicide last week. She survived the attack that killed 17 people at the Florida school – including 14 students and three staff members.

Aiello, a Florida Atlantic University student, suffered from survivor’s guilt and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, her mom told CNN affiliate WFOR.

Then on Saturday, more tragedy struck Parkland whena second student died in what police describe as “an apparent suicide.”

If you are having thoughts about suicide, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or suicidepreventionlifeline.org