Man whose daughter was killed in 2012 school shooting dead in apparent suicide

The father of a 6-year-old girl who was killed in the shooting massacre at an elementary school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, in 2012, and who dedicated his life to helping prevent mass shootings, was found dead on Monday in an apparent suicide, authorities aid.

It was the third suicide involving someone linked to a major US school shooting in little more than a week.

The body of Jeremy Richman, 49, was found on Monday at Edmond Town Hall in Connecticut, where Richman had an office, police said.

An autopsy was planned, but the death did not appear suspicious, said police, who found a note left by Richman but did not disclose what it said.

Richman, a neuroscientist, was the father of Avielle Richman and with his wife, Jennifer Hensel, the founder of the Avielle Foundation, dedicated to preventing violence and building compassion through brain research, community engagement and education.

Richman had left his job at a pharmaceutical company to focus on the foundation.

A gunman stormed the school on Dec 14, 2012, killing Avielle and 19 other children and six adults before turning the gun on himself. The massacre thrust Newtown into the debate on gun violence, mental health and the Second Amendment.

"This is a heartbreaking event for the Richman family and the Newtown community as a whole," police Lieutenant Aaron Bahamonde said. In addition to his wife, Richman is survived by two children, Imogen and Owen. The Richmans were among the families who had filed lawsuits against the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the host of Infowars, a radio show and website. Jones has said that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.

Richman had visited Parkland, Florida, last week and met with the parents of victims of the 2018 shooting that killed 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, according to Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter Alyssa died in the shooting.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.