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Erik von Brunn, son of Holocaust Museum Shooter, Apologizes

by Yuliya Talmazan | June 14, 2009 at 06:13 pm

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Erik von Brunn, the son of Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn, has said Sunday that he is "deeply sorry" for his father's "act of cowardice." On June 10, James von Brunn opened fire at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., killing a security guard before being taken down by the police. Today, von Brunn's son Erik has spoken out about the murder committed by his father.

Erik von Brunn admitted that his father's 'views' have destroyed himself and their family.

He also said that he was 'deeply sorry' that it was the security guide and not his father who lost his life.

He added that he never expected his father to commit murder.

"I cannot express enough how deeply sorry I am it was Mr. Johns, and not my father who lost (his) life," Erik von Brunn, 32, said in a statement to ABC News. "It was unjustified and unfair that he died, and while my condolences could never begin to offer appeasement, they, along with my remorse is all I have to give."

"His views consumed him, and in doing so, not only destroyed his life, but destroyed our family and ruined our lives as well," Erik von Brunn's statement said.

Erik von Brunn, an aspiring teacher and fiction writer who recently graduated from the University of Maryland, declined to say whether he was estranged from his father.

He said he never imagined that his father would take a life.

"I never had any inclination to think that. The man is 88 years old. I never would have thought he could do this," he said. "It really hasn't sunk in yet. It's a shock."

"For the extremists who believe my father is a hero: it is imperative that you understand what he did was an act of cowardice," Erik von Brunn said.

Source: cnews.canoe.ca