Shliach Relates How Father Was ‘Distraught’ Before Shooting

New Hampshire Shliach Rabbi Levi Krinsky related to the Daily News how a man, Muni Savyon, 54, was upset about his brother’s passing before gunning down his son, Joshua, then turning the weapon on himself at a YWCA office in Manchester.

From the NY Daily News:

A man who gunned down his 9-year-old son at a New Hampshire YWCA before killing himself was struggling with the death of his brother and a bitter custody battle, his rabbi said.

Muni Savyon, 54, and son Joshua Sayvon were together for a supervised visit with an adult monitor at the center in Manchester when Sayvon pulled out a handgun, shot his boy and then himself, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

Manchester cops raced to the neighborhood shortly after 10 a.m. following reports of gunfire. They discovered the bodies of father and son inside.

Rabbi Levi Krinsky of Chabad Lubavitch in Manchester said Savyon had returned recently from his brother’s funeral in Israel and was clearly distraught when they spoke about a week ago.

“He was hearing me, but he wasn’t listening to me,” Krinsky told the Daily News. “He had a lot going on in his mind apparently.”

His mood apparently only darkened in the days that followed. Krinsky said he learned on Sunday Savyon had sent an ominous e-mail to a friend, warning of the horror to come.

“It was something to the effect that this was happening,” Krinsky said.

Law enforcement officials said Savyon’s relationship with Joshua’s mother was contentious and he had previously threatened to kill the three of them. Krinsky said he never knew the depth of Savyon’s troubles, but the father was clearly troubled by the fight over his child.

“He was going through a very, very difficult battle over his son,” Krinsky said. “He was visibly distraught, so my guess is that’s what led to this.”

Cops with guns drawn and a SWAT team quickly swarmed the neighborhood surrounding the YWCA following the shooting. Others were inside the building when Savyon opened fire midway through the one-hour supervised visit. A police tactical team searched the building, guarding the escape of occupants in case a gunman was on the loose. No one else was injured. The supervisor who was there for the visit was not wounded.

Krinsky said the shooting was an “act of insanity,” incomprehensible to the sane mind. Savyon, who ran a failed campaign for state office in 2010, seemed upset but never dangerous, he said.

“You can sometimes tell when people have had enough,” Krinsky said, “but it’s never justified.”

Dara Richardson-Heron, CEO of the YWCA USA, said the group is “saddened by the tragic loss of life,” and that they provide domestic violence and outreach services.