by Michael Ruiz at Fox News
When Brian Laundrie’s parents reported him missing in mid-September following the strangulation of his former fiancée Gabby Petito, they turned over all of the firearms in their home to the FBI – but one was missing, sources close to the investigation tell Fox News Digital.
Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino said Tuesday afternoon that investigators informed the parents that an autopsy had determined their son died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head when he died in September.
It’s unclear whether the missing gun is the one Laundrie used to take his own life. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Brian Laundrie as seen in bodycam footage released by the Moab Police Department in Utah. (Moab Police Department)
For weeks, the bureau declined to answer questions about whether Laundrie, believed to be alive and on the run at the time, should be considered armed and dangerous. Laundrie was later revealed to have been deceased nearly the whole time.
In prior conversations, Bertolino said he also declined to comment on the firearms issue out of concern that it would create a panic or attract armed vigilantes to the Florida nature reserve where Laundrie went when he snuck out under the nose of North Port police on Sept. 13.
BRIAN LAUNDRIE FOUND: PARENTS MAY HAVE JUST MISSED UNCOVERING REMAINS THEMSELVES
“We didn’t want the public going into a frenzy on that,” he said. “I don’t think they considered him dangerous to anybody he met on the street.”
GABBY PETITO HOMICIDE: TIMELINE OF DISAPPEARANCE WITH BRIAN LAUNDRIE
The case of Petito and Laundrie captivated the nation for more than a month. The set off on a cross-country road trip in late spring, documenting their travels in idyllic social media posts. But on Aug. 12, police in Moab, Utah, responded to a domestic violence incident involving the couple, as Fox News Digital was first to report…
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