Police have arrested one person in relation to a massacre at an Ottawa home Wednesday night that left two children and four adults dead. All the victims had been killed with a "knife-like object." The youngest was just two-and-a-half months old. The father of the family survived and was taken to hospital.The 35-year-old mother of the four children was also shot and killed. The other slain children were aged seven, four and two years old. A sixth victim, a male, was also found dead at the scene, police said.The suspect, 19-year-old Febrio De-Zoysa, has been charged with six charges of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He was in the country as a student and living with the family.Postmedia reported Sri Lanka’s high commission in Ottawa said they were a family of Sri Lankan nationals.The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Homicide Unit was called to a residence on Berrigan Dr. in the Barrhaven neighbourhood just before 11 p.m. OPS responded to 911 calls received at 10:52 p.m. and “located the six deceased – four children and two adults — inside the Barrhaven area residence,” the police said in a statement on social media.“This is a tragic and complex investigation and investigative teams remain on Berrigan Drive,” OPS wrote. In an interview with CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning, police Chief Eric Stubbs said the force can't yet comment about the relationship, if any, between the victims and the suspect.He said investigators do not believe it to be a case of intimate partner violence."This is a tragic file … and it will greatly impact the city of Ottawa, let alone the immediate neighbourhood in Barrhaven. So obviously we encourage everybody to reach out and get help to help manage themselves through this traumatic event," Stubbs said.Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe tweeted, calling the slayings "one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city's history."Any members of the public with information are asked to contact the OPS Homicide Unit at 613-236-1222 ext. 5493 or submit an anonymous tip through the Crime Stoppers website or at 1-800-222-8477.
Police have arrested one person in relation to a massacre at an Ottawa home Wednesday night that left two children and four adults dead. All the victims had been killed with a "knife-like object." The youngest was just two-and-a-half months old. The father of the family survived and was taken to hospital.The 35-year-old mother of the four children was also shot and killed. The other slain children were aged seven, four and two years old. A sixth victim, a male, was also found dead at the scene, police said.The suspect, 19-year-old Febrio De-Zoysa, has been charged with six charges of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He was in the country as a student and living with the family.Postmedia reported Sri Lanka’s high commission in Ottawa said they were a family of Sri Lankan nationals.The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Homicide Unit was called to a residence on Berrigan Dr. in the Barrhaven neighbourhood just before 11 p.m. OPS responded to 911 calls received at 10:52 p.m. and “located the six deceased – four children and two adults — inside the Barrhaven area residence,” the police said in a statement on social media.“This is a tragic and complex investigation and investigative teams remain on Berrigan Drive,” OPS wrote. In an interview with CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning, police Chief Eric Stubbs said the force can't yet comment about the relationship, if any, between the victims and the suspect.He said investigators do not believe it to be a case of intimate partner violence."This is a tragic file … and it will greatly impact the city of Ottawa, let alone the immediate neighbourhood in Barrhaven. So obviously we encourage everybody to reach out and get help to help manage themselves through this traumatic event," Stubbs said.Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe tweeted, calling the slayings "one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city's history."Any members of the public with information are asked to contact the OPS Homicide Unit at 613-236-1222 ext. 5493 or submit an anonymous tip through the Crime Stoppers website or at 1-800-222-8477.
