INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sunday, rested but hungry after a long flight from San Francisco back to Nashville, Tennessee, the day before
As he was making himself some food, he got a message.His younger brother, Casey James Lawhorn, transferred $250 to his Venmo account
Along with the money was a one-word note that, to Chad Lawhorn, instantly hinted at something terrible: "Damages."Chad immediately thought
his brother would harm himself, as he had done twice before, and the money was somehow a way to compensate for the emotional toll about to
Casey, he said, had been suffering from severe depression and had stayed briefly at mental-health facilities
Sometime between two failed suicide attempts, Casey wondered whether the reason he was still alive was because he didn't have a gun, Chad
car to drive to East Ridge, Tennessee, where his brother was living with their mother
He tried to call them during the two-hour drive, but Casey had turned off his cellphone, and his mother wasn't answering the nearly two
dozen calls he made.He arrived to see his mother's house surrounded by police cars, TV vans and crime scene tape
He stopped in the middle of the road and sat in his car for a few minutes, his mouth slightly open, when two officers approached him.The
news, Chad Lawhorn later learned, was far worse than he had feared.His brother had shot and killed their mother and a close friend with a
gun he had stolen, authorities said
Two officers told him that his brother had called 911 to report that he had killed his mother and his friend - and that he planned to kill
He killed her and paid "damages" to familyCasey Lawhorn would travel 300 miles across multiple states, setting off a day-long manhunt that
would end in rural Mississippi, where his body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday morning, authorities said."I think I'm
People keep asking me how I'm feeling
In my head, I don't know what I feel
I don't know what I need to do, and I don't know what I need other people to do for me
I feel myself drifting off," Chad Lawhorn told The Washington Post.Investigators have yet to say what they think drove Casey Lawhorn's
East Ridge Assistant Police Chief Stan Allen said the 23-year-old didn't have any violent criminal history or any previous incidents
involving his family.The deaths come amid an intensifying debate about gun control and mental health in the United States
For Chad Lawhorn, a gun-control advocate, both issues hit hard as he struggles to find an explanation to his brother's sudden eruption of
violence."No one ever said he was a harm to anybody else
No mental-health professional ever indicated any of that," he said.Last year, Casey Lawhorn tried to overdose by injecting himself with
heroin at the back of a secluded church before a police officer taking a break from patrol found him, his brother said
The year before, while in college, he chased Percocet pills with alcohol.Chad Lawhorn said his brother had never owned a gun and shared his
He can only assume that, perhaps, his brother didn't want to fail a third time
But why he also killed their mother, Vi Lawhorn, and his close friend, Avery Gaines, remains a mystery.The brothers were five years apart
and both attended Middle Tennessee State University
Chad Lawhorn studied international relations, and his brother, political science
But Casey Lawhorn dropped out after his first suicide attempt in 2016.Still, Chad Lawhorn said he tried to distract his brother from his
They watched every Marvel and Star Wars film together
"The Daily Show" was one of their favorite TV shows, and they often talked about which jokes they liked the best
They also went on road trips, including one to Texas to visit friends.The brothers shared the same political ideals and both volunteered to
do field work for political campaigns of Democratic candidates
They often talked about social justice, poverty and gun violence and shared the belief that gun laws are too loose in the United States,
Chad Lawhorn said.Casey Lawhorn also volunteered at UnifiEd, a Chattanooga-based education advocacy group where his brother, now an
independent political consultant, worked as a community organizer."Our team is shocked and heartbroken to learn of his actions
We will work over the coming weeks to ensure that our staff, volunteers, and allies have the tools necessary to deal with this tragedy in a
healthy way," the organization's interim executive director, Natalie Cook, said in a statement
"Our thoughts remain with Chad, his family, and our Hamilton County community during this difficult time of healing."In recent years, as
Casey Lawhorn cycled through different jobs, he had grown embittered, and his problems with depression worsened, according to his brother
He relied on his mother and lived with her in the two-bedroom house she bought last year
(The brothers' parents divorced in 2008)."I know he'd been frustrated lately
There's some tension with that
My mom was pushing him to get a job," Chad Lawhorn said
"She was always super worried about him after the last two attempts
She couldn't process the prospect of losing her baby."Shortly before Casey Lawhorn killed himself, and as police pursued him, he posted what
