An investigation has been launched after six people, including four children, were found dead at a house in Canada’s capital Ottawa.
The victims, who recently arrived in Canada from Sri Lanka, include a woman aged 35, named as Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake.
Her son, Inuka Wickramasinghe, aged 7; and daughters Ashwini Wickramasinghe, four; Rinyana Wickramasinghe, two, and Kelly Wickramasinghe, two months, were also discovered at the property in the suburb of Barrhaven around 10.52pm local time on Wednesday.
A 40-year-old male family acquaintance from Sri Lanka, named as Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, was also found dead at the scene, police said.
A seventh person, identified as the father and husband of the victims, was taken to hospital and is now in a serious but stable condition.
Febrio De-Zoysa, a 19-year-old male Sri Lankan national thought to have been studying in Canada, is the only suspect, Ottawa Police said in a press conference on Thursday.
He has been charged with six counts of first degree murder and a further count of attempted murder.
An “edged weapon” was used to carry out the killings – for which the motive remains unclear.
Investigative teams remain on the scene in Berrigan Drive, described by Ottawa Police chief, Eric Stubbs, as “very tragic” and “horrific”.
Mr Stubbs told the press conference: “This was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on purely innocent people.”
One resident, Shanti Ramesh, said she heard a commotion before going on her balcony and seeing a man sitting on the driveway of the home – the middle unit in a row of townhouses – yelling.
He was taken away by two police officers, she said.
The force has reached out to community leaders, the family’s temple and the Sri Lankan High Commission, Mr Stubbs said.
Police tape blocks access to an alleyway at the scene. Pic: Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press/ AP
‘One of the most shocking incidents of violence in city’s history’
Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe described the tragedy as “one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city’s history”.
“I was devastated to learn of the multiple homicide in Barrhaven,” he said.
In a post on X, Mr Sutcliffe wrote: “We are proud to live in a safe community but this news is distressing to all Ottawa residents.”
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Canada‘s capital, which has a population of 1 million, witnessed 14 murders last year and 15 in 2022.
In December 2022, a man gunned down five people in a suburb of Toronto before being shot by police.
Three months earlier, a man stabbed and killed 11 people in the western province of Saskatchewan.
He died of a cocaine overdose shortly after being arrested by police.
