Canadian Police say six Sri Lankan newcomers to Canada, the youngest being less than three months old, are victims of a “mass killing”.
Febrio De-Zoysa, a 19-year-old international student from Sri Lanka, who lived with the family has been charged in the killings.
The victims have been identified as 35-year-old Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake and her four children: seven-year-old Inuka Wickramasinghe, four-year-old Ashwini Wickramasinghe, two-year-old Rinyana Wickramasinghe and two-month-old Kelly Wickramasinghe. The sixth deceased victim was identified as family friend 40-year-old Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon.
The children’s father and Ms Ekanyake’s husband, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe in court documents, was seriously injured in the attack.
Mr Wickramasinghe is in stable condition at an area hospital. He was the one seen on the street shouting for someone to call 911.
Ottawa’s police chief told media:
“This was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on purely innocent people.”
Ottawa’s mayor Mark Sutcliffe called the multiple homicide event “one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city’s history”.
He wrote in a post on X: “We are proud to live in a safe community but this news is distressing to all Ottawa residents.”
Officers responded to emergency calls placed at approximately on Wednesday from the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven.
When the police arrived, officers quickly identified the suspect and arrested him without incident. Soon, the officers discovered the victims, which included a mother, her four children, and a family friend who was living with the family.
Chief Stubbs told media that the victims were killed and injured using an “edged weapon”.
In September 2022, a man stabbed and killed 11 people in the western province of Saskatchewan and in December 2022, a man shot five people in a Toronto suburb before being gunned down by police.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed “shock and horror” at the incident, which he called a “terrible violence”.
Febrio De-Zoysa has been charged with six counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
The police investigation is ongoing.
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