Daughter shares insight on father's QAnon obsession, 'spiraling' mental state before deadly shooting

ByDarren Cunningham, WXYZ
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Daughter shares insight on father's QAnon obsession, 'spiraling' mental state before deadly shooting
Daughter shares insight on father's QAnon obsession, 'spiraling' mental state before deadly shootingPolice in Michigan say a man opened fire on his family, killing his wife and injuring one of his daughters. One of his daughters blames QAnon.

DETROIT, Mich. -- Police in Michigan say a man opened fire on his family, killing his wife and injuring one of his daughters.

The man, identified as 52-year-old Igor Lanis, was later killed in a shootout with police.

His other daughter says he was spiraling out of control before the shootings and she blamed it on QAnon, WXYZ reported.

"It was like I was in a movie or a nightmare or something, like how could this happen to me," said Rebecca Lanis, one of Igor's daughters.

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Rebecca said her grandmother called her Sunday morning asking if she was in the hospital.

Unaware of the tragedy that unfolded at her home in Walled Lake, Rebecca found that question to be strange and said she was at a friend's sleep over.

She soon learned her sister Rachel had been shot and critically injured, and her mother had been shot and killed by her father.

"I had a really close bond with my mom and I just can't believe that she's not here," Rebecca said.

The Oakland County Sheriff said when officers responded to the home, Igor opened fire on them.

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A Walled Lake police officer and an Oakland County deputy returned fire, killing him.

The sheriff's department said Igor had also killed the family dog.

Rebecca said her father had never been physically violent but said his behavior started spiraling about two years ago.

"He became different person after 2020 when Trump lost," she recalled.

She said he started getting more agitated at normal things and that he often found a way to bring up conspiracy theories about the vaccine, 5G and electromagnetic fields.

Rebecca also said her father turned to extremism, like QAnon, a political conspiracy theory and political movement centered around baseless claims that former President Trump was fighting enemies within a so called "deep state" and a sex trafficking ring run by satanic cannibals.

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"Online extremism, QAnon, right wing extremism," Rebecca said.

She said this tragedy is a warning for people to pay attention to their loved ones who may need help.

"I think that people need to focus more on radicalization, QAnon, and if they have relatives with guns who are like this, you need to get them help and they need to get checked into a mental institution. Even if you think they're not dangerous," Rebecca urged.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Department said 25-year-old Rachel is now in stable condition.