“Howard was in the process of actively slicing his throat with another knife,” the federal affidavit says. The injured man, who had other self-inflicted wounds on his arms, reportedly told the first-responders to “leave me alone.”
Authorities say a message appeared on a Facebook page with Howard’s name around the time of a fire.
“Take a hard look in the mirror, I have. And this is why I am about to take out ZAU (the control center) and my life,” the Facebook message said, according to an FBI special agent’s comments in an affidavit. “April, Pop, luv you guys and I am sorry. Leaving you with a big mess. Do your best to move on quickly from me please. Feel like I give a [expletive] for the first time in a long time again … but not for too long (haha!) So I’m gonna smoke this blunt and move on, take care everyone.”