Six people — four children and two adults — were killed in what Ottawa’s police chief called a mass killing inside a townhouse in the suburb of Barrhaven late Wednesday night.
Calls to 911 started coming in at about 10:50 p.m., directing first responders to Berrigan Drive near Palmadeo Drive. It’s a residential area close to two schools.
Inside, emergency responders found six people dead and one injured person, who was taken to hospital.
The identities of the deceased have not yet been confirmed, police said, and their investigation continues.
A spokesperson for the Sri Lankan High Commission who did not want to be identified told CBC the deceased include a Sri Lankan woman and her four children, and that the father, also Sri Lankan, survived but was injured.
COMING UP | A news conference at Ottawa police headquarters has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday. CBC News will carry the conference live on this webpage.
A male, who police also haven’t identified, was arrested at the scene about 15 kilometres south of Ottawa’s downtown core.
The force said there is no ongoing risk to public safety.
In an interview on CBC News Network later Thursday morning, Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs initially called the incident a “mass shooting.”
In fact, the incident was not a shooting. Later Thursday, Staff Sgt. Jeff Pilon, one of the leads of the homicide unit, told CBC there was no shooting on Berrigan Drive.
Not believed to be intimate partner violence
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.
WATCH | Some of a morning update from the police chief:
Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs says, at this stage, investigators do not believe the multiple homicide in a suburban Ottawa community was a case of domestic violence or intimate partner violence.
‘I can’t believe it’
After hearing the news early Thursday, Barrhaven resident David Brose came to the scene.
“I’m obviously in shock … it’s tough,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’m just in awe. I can’t believe it.”
Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod, whose riding includes this part of Barrhaven, said the community woke up to shock and grief.
“There are no words for the heartbreak me and my neighbours feel for the surviving family, friends [and] playmates of the deceased,” she said.
My community has woken up to shock, grief and tragedy today as 6 people, including four children, have been murdered. There are no words for the heartbreak me and my neighbours feel for the surviving family, friends & playmates of the deceased. I’ve spoken already this morning…
—@MacLeodLisa
On social media, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe called it “one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city’s history.”
In a later interview on CBC News Network, he said people in the community have been “stunned” by the news.
“In particular I know people are just devastated to hear that children are involved,” Sutcliffe said. “I think that’s what’s most heartbreaking to me and to my family and to all Ottawa residents, is to hear of violence on this scale and to know that children were victims … it’s just really incomprehensible and unimaginable and absolutely devastating.”
WATCH | Mayor Mark Sutcliffe on ‘abhorrent’ violence:
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says people in Ottawa were devastated to learn of the killings of four children and two adults in Barrhaven.
Coun. Wilson Lo, who represents the area, said on social media that he was “saddened to learn of the tragic loss of six Barrhaven neighbours,” and that his thoughts are with their loved ones and people close by.
Property records show it has been owned by two people since 2013.
CBC is working to confirm more details.
