A Massachusetts woman who allegedly killed three members of her family and then turned the gun on herself had accused them of ignoring domestic abuse, a new report claims.
Khosay Sharifi, 31, reportedly wrote an ominous Facebook post just minutes after she allegedly shot dead her father, 66, and her sister’s husband, 34, at a residence in Lynn, a suburb 13 miles north of Boston, on Tuesday.
Ms Sharifi also allegedly killed her brother-in-law’s father, 56, as he was parked in his vehicle on a street less than a mile away. Ms Sharifi then killed herself inside her car parked outside a Stop&Shop store, police said. Authorities confirmed Ms Sharifi’s identity to The Boston Globe reported.
In the post from a Facebook account confirmed to be Ms Sharifi’s by the Globe and published just minutes after the killings took place, she claimed that her sister had endured an abusive marriage for longer than a decade, and accused her family and her brother-in-law’s parents of enabling the abuse by turning a blind eye. She made no mention of plans to kill herself but dedicated a portion of her post “to my sister.”
“There’s no excuse for what [my brother-in-law] did. He kept doing it because no one did anything about it,” Ms Sharifi wrote in the chilling post. “How long did he think he would get away with it? They don’t realize that abuse can affect someone not just physically but also mentally. No form of abuse is ok.”
Authorities have yet to release the names of the male victims but confirmed to the Globe that the female suspect was Ms Sharifi and that translators were being needed in preliminary interviews with surviving members of the family.
Police responded to reports of shots fired at 98 Rockaway Street shortly before 3pm on Tuesday. A neighbour told WBCV that she had heard when the shots were fired.
“After three minutes, over 20 shots — one after another one,” the neighbour told the station. “This is when I went, literally, on the floor because it was shots.”
Authorities then found the body of the 56-year-old man inside a car parked on Laighton Street, less than a mile from the residence.
Ms Sharifi’s Facebook post was published at 3.06pm. According to her social media account, Ms Sharifi was an Afghan native and had studied to be an optician at the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology.
The alleged attacks on Tuesday evening were seemingly in retaliation to the abuse her sister was the victim of, according to Ms Sharifi’s accusations online.
“Several months ago, I found out that my sister has been abused by her husband for 14 years (since they first met). He has [choked her], slapped, kicked, swore at her & the most recent a year and a half ago has punched her in her face,” Ms Sharifi claimed.
“My parents & his parents knew all these years but have not really done much but say “work it out” “what will people say if you separate” or even victim blaming.”
Ms Sharifi also accused her father of enabling the abuse with the excuse that it would “work itself out,” and engaging himself in what she called financial and verbal abuse towards her mother.
“Maybe that’s why my mom did not protect her own daughter, because she’s a victim too. But that’s no excuse, how can you let your own daughter get abused,” she wrote.
The 31-year-old said she would “not deal with that nonsense.”
Ms Sharifi also said she hoped her sister “start[s] healing & actually teach your daughters that abuse is not ok as they have also witnessed him slap you.”
“I asked how they felt about that & they said they were scared & didn’t know what to do. Let’s not pass this on to your kids as it has been passed on to you,” she added.
The family has set up a GoFundMe account to raise funds for burial costs. More than $14,000 have been raised.
“Time and time again, mental health is demonstrated to be such a prominent issue in society. Abuse of all types takes a significant toll on individuals affected, and leads to damage and loss in many ways,” organizer Lema Sharifi wrote.
“Our family was a victim of this scenario, and now two young children are fatherless. We are absolutely traumatized, heartbroken, and lost.”
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
