(JTA) — An Israeli man living in the United States shot and killed his 9-year-old son before turning the gun on himself during a supervised visit at a New Hampshire YWCA.
Muni Savyon, 54, of Manchester, N.H., used a handgun to commit the murder-suicide on Sunday at the city’s YWCA, the Associated Press reported.
The YWCA hosts child custody exchanges and supervised child visitation, according to the AP. Security uses a hand-held metal detector, but it is not believed that it was used on Savyon.
Savyon had emailed a letter written in Hebrew to a friend that indicated his intention to commit the murder-suicide and said he would be dead before it was received, Rabbi Levi Krinsky of Chabad Lubavitch in Manchester told reporters, according to the AP.
Krinsky said he had known Savyon for five years but had no idea he was suicidal.
Savyon had recently returned from Israel, where he attended the funeral of his brother, who had died unexpectedly. He reportedly was “distraught” over his brother’s death.
Savyon was not married to the mother of his son, Joshua. The mother has not been named.
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