Lauren Mirra is grieving the untimely passing of her husband. Dave Mirra, BMX bike legend, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday. His body was discovered in his car around 4:00 in the afternoon, according to the Greenville, North Carolina Police Department. Kristen Hunter of the Greenville Police Department told People magazine Dave was visiting with friends before taking his life. His friends found his body.
Goodbye Dave Mirra, a true pioneer, icon and legend. Thank you for the memories… we are heartbroken. pic.twitter.com/RHpTe7Qzwi
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) February 5, 2016
Prior to taking his life, Dave posted a tribute to wife Lauren Mirra via social media.
“My rock! Thank god,” he captioned a photo of him with Lauren. The two are drinking champagne and smiling for the camera.
Dave Mirra frequently shared posts of and about Lauren Blackwell Mirra, who is a Certified Holy Yoga instructor–and their two daughters. Just over two years ago, he considered retiring to spend more time with his family.
“I have two daughters, ages 5 and 7, and they actually rip on their bikes,” he said during an interview with ESPN at that time. “They’re more interested in racing than tricks, and they’re out-of-hand fast. We also got a go-kart for them, because they get stoked on watching rallycross, and we’ve been throwing up some cones in the parking lot. And what’s truly amazing is they’re also way into triathlons. They’re both much better swimmers than I ever was, and they just did a triathlon where the age group was 6 to 8. Maddie got second and Kenzie got third. She’s wasn’t even 6 yet but they let her race, so that’s pretty impressive! It just blows my mind. If they’re getting that go-for-it attitude and competitive spirit from me, then I couldn’t be more proud.”
Now Lauren Mirra is left to raise their daughters as a single mom.
Hopefully Lauren Mirra and her two girls have lots of family and close friends to lean on for support in the coming days and weeks.