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North Carolina – Roger Self, the man who drove his SUV into a Bessemer City restaurant on Sunday, was likely suffering from mental illness, according to a pastor friend of the family. The car ramming into the Surf And Turf Restaurant killed Gaston County Deputy Katelyn Self, and Amanda Self, a nurse and wife of Gaston County Deputy Josh Self.

Josh Self and Roger’s wife Diane are in critical but stable condition.

Rev. Austin Rammell of Venture Church in Dallas, North Carolina told AP that in the last two months, Roger Self’s depression and anxiety had grown more intense. About 10 weeks ago, Roger asked his son to take his guns away from him.

AP-local KHQ reported,

“His family and close friends have intensely labored to try and get Roger help. We all feel a level of guilt,” the pastor said at a news conference.

The pastor worried that his friend might hurt himself, but didn’t imagine he would hurt his family. Still, he said Self’s judgment had become impaired.

“It’s very possible that in his mind, he was thinking the best thing for this family was that they all go to heaven together,” he said…

…The pastor said that Josh and Amanda Self’s children were among other family members at the meal, but they are OK and being cared for by relatives.

Katelyn was the one that arranged the Sunday luncheon, thinking that her dad would feel better if he was surrounded by family. Roger Self was not hospitalized, but had been seeing a psychiatrist and family doctor. He was supposedly taking medication for anxiety, but the pastor stated he had become more unstable over the weekend.

“It was a roller coaster, and in the last few days it went from bad to really bad.” Rev Austin Rammell

Roger Self was reportedly a former law enforcement officer and volunteer youth minister. Unfortunately, anxiety and depression can strike a person that was previously high functioning. It is unclear if he was actually taking his medication, whether it was a new medication, or a side-effect of it. Some of the side-effects of anti-depressants are:

Thoughts about suicide or dying

Attempts to commit suicide

New or worsening depression

New or worsening anxiety

Feeling very agitated or restless

Panic attacks

Trouble sleeping (insomnia)

New or worsening irritability

Acting aggressively, being angry, or violent

Acting on dangerous impulses

An extreme increase in activity and talking (mania)

Other unusual changes in behavior or mood

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