Anthony Nephew, a 46-year-old man from Minnesota, tragically shot and killed himself, his wife, ex-partner, and two children after the election of Donald Trump on November 5, 2016.
According to Duluth Police Chief Mike Ceynowa, Nephew had a “pattern of mental health issues.”
On November 5, authorities discovered five bodies inside two homes in Duluth.
The first victims were Nephew’s ex-partner, Erin Abramson, 47, and their son, Jacob Nephew, 15, who were found dead from gunshot wounds inside their home.
After identifying Anthony Nephew as the suspect, police discovered his wife, Kathryn Nephew, 45, and their 7-year-old son, Oliver Nephew, dead from gunshot wounds in their nearby family home.
Before the shooting, Anthony Nephew had been posting anti-Trump and left-wing content on his Facebook account.
In a July post, he wrote, “My mental health and the world can no longer peacefully coexist, and a lot of the reason is religion. I am terrified of religious zealots inflicting their misguided beliefs on me and my family. I have intrusive thoughts of being burned at the stake as a witch or crucified on a burning cross. Having people actually believe that I or my child are Satan, or the anti-Christ, or whatever their favourite boogeyman they are afraid of this week.”
In another post, Nephew accused Republicans of “making it harder for women to leave” abusive relationships, writing, “Gilead here we come,” referencing ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘, a dystopian novel and TV series in which women are stripped of their rights.
He also posted a political image showing former President Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris, with the word “hate” under Trump’s face and “hope,” “heal,” and “grow” under the Democratic politicians’ faces.
He added, “Not that anyone cares, but as an Independent voter, I would really like to see both the political parties in our country pick better candidates. We can do better than a binary choice between fascism and not fascism.”
In 2021, Nephew wrote an op-ed for the ‘Duluth News Tribune‘, warning about the mental health struggles faced by many Americans.
He stated, “For millions of Americans, a breakdown leads to suicide — or homicide before suicide. Mental health in this country is stigmatised, ignored, or treated as a burden for the individual to bear alone, with little help and even less understanding. Americans deny they have mental health struggles — because they have to, because they’re told to, or because they don’t realise their mind is broken.”
Authorities in Duluth, a city about 135 miles north of Minneapolis, have not yet identified a motive for the shootings but have confirmed there is no ongoing threat to the community.
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