Earlier this week, Olympic gymnast and American sweetheart Simone Biles’ brother, Tevin Biles-Thomas, was arrested and charged for a triple murder case.
Now, Simone has spoken publically about the tragedy on Twitter.
“Still having a hard time processing last week’s news,” The 22-year-old wrote.
WATCH: Simone Biles’ brother Tevin Biles Thomas was arrested for a triple murder case. See the details below:
“My heart aches for everyone involved, especially for the victims and their families,” she continued. “There is nothing that I can say that will heal anyone’s pain, but I do want to express my sincere condolences to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy.
“I ask everyone to please respect my family’s privacy as we deal with our pain. XO”
Tevin Biles-Thomas, who is 24, was charged with murder from a New Year’s Eve shooting, which took place in Cleveland, Ohio.
A press release from the Cleveland Division of Police and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office claims that Tevin was taken into custody over the weekend in Georgia, charged with six counts murder, three counts of voluntary manslaughter, five counts of felonious assault, and one count of perjury.
The New Year’s Eve incident happened at a party that was apparently held at an Airbnb in Cleveland. At approximately 11:30pm, an “uninvited group” crashed.
An altercation between the gate-crashers and guests broke up shortly after their arrival.
According to reports, there were guns drawn, and a shooting took place. Three men—Devaughn Gibson, 23, Toshaun Banks, 21 and Delvante Johnson, 19— were all killed. Two others were injured.
“The relentless persistence of Cleveland Police Homicide detectives helped secure an indictment in this case,” Prosecutor O’Malley of Cuyahoga County said in the release. “It is through their hard work that we can begin to seek justice for these victims.”
Tevin is part of the United States Army however, he is now being held at the Liberty County Jail in Hinesville, Georgia. His arraignment will occur in two weeks, on approximately September 13.
Simone Biles, his sister, is an Olympic gold medalist who has previously spoken about her family.
Simone has previously written about her struggles growing up in and out of foster care when she was only a young girl.
“My birth mother suffered from drug addiction, and when I was just 3 years old, my siblings and I were removed from her custody,” she wrote for CNN last year. “From there, we bounced around until I was 6 and my grandparents made the brave move to adopt us.”
She continued: “Although I was young when my foster care ordeal began, I remember how it felt to be passed off and overlooked,” she wrote. “Like nobody knew me or wanted to know me. Like my talents didn’t count, and my voice didn’t matter.
“Finding a family made me feel like I mattered,” she wrote. “Finding a passion, something I loved and was really good at, made me feel like I mattered. Representing my country and being part of such an amazing Olympic team matters, as does being a role model for those looking to fulfill their own dreams.”
In 2017, she tweeted a photo of herself and her brother Tevin, writing: “my brother tevin / everyone says we look like twins but we don’t see it.”
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