QAnon Follower Who Killed Wife, Severely Injured Daughter Was Into Trump Election, COVID-19 Vaccines

An American flag endorsing QAnon, one of the conspiracy theories cited by a father who confessed to killing his children because he believed it would save the world from "monsters" GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Stephen Maturen

KEY POINTS

A Michigan man, 53, shot his family Sunday, killing his wife and severely injuring his older daughter
He was killed in a shootout with police officers that resulted in no other injuries
The man was sent to the edge after he became radicalized by QAnon, his younger daughter says

A Michigan man shot his family after he allegedly became radicalized by a web of conspiracy theories.

Igor Lanis, 53, killed his wife and severely injured his daughter in a shooting that happened at the family's Walled Lake home shortly past 4:10 a.m. Sunday, WDIV Local 4 reported, citing police. Igor was then killed in a police shootout.

While police did not identify the victims, Lanis' 21-year-old daughter, Rebecca Lanis, confirmed that they were her mother, Tina Lanis, 56, and sister, Rachel Lanis, 25.

It was unclear what led to the incident, but Rebecca told The Detroit News Sunday that her father was sent over the edge after he became radicalized by a baseless conspiracy movement known as QAnon.

The movement is based upon the idea that the world is ruled by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles, writer and conspiracy theory researcher Travis View explained in an interview with Salon.

Followers of QAnon believe that the 2020 presidential election that saw former President Donald Trump lose to President Joe Biden was fraudulent and that vaccines are meant to be a form of population control, among other things.

Igor, who police said had no criminal history, started falling deeper into "crazy ideas" online, including QAnon conspiracy theories about vaccines and Trump, after the latter lost the 2020 election, according to Rebecca.

"Nobody could talk him out of them," Rebecca said of her father.

In a post on the forum Reddit, Rebecca described her parents as "extremely loving and happy people" when she was growing up.

"It's really so shocking, but it really can happen to anybody. Right-wing extremism is not funny, and people need to watch their relatives, and if they have guns, they need to hide them or report them or something because this is out of control," she told Detroit News.

When authorities arrived at the Lanis residence Sunday, Igor exited through the front door with a Remington 870 shotgun and opened fire on the officers, police alleged.

Officers fired back, shooting and killing Igor, according to police. No officers were injured in the exchange.

Police later entered the home and found Igor's daughter Rachel trying to crawl out of the residence, The Detroit News reported, citing Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. She had been shot with a shotgun in the back and legs.

The woman's mother was found dead inside the home, according to the Bouchard. She had been shot at least four times with a handgun.

The family's dog had also been shot multiple times and killed.

Rachel was taken to the hospital after the shooting. She was reportedly in stable condition after suffering "super traumatic injuries" to her back and legs.

An investigation into the shooting is being conducted by the Oakland County Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Walled Lake Police Department, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.