6 dead, including 4 children, in Ottawa mass killing

Six people including a mother, her four young children and a family ac‐ quaintance were killed in‐ side a townhouse in the south Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven late Wednesday night.

During a media briefing Thursday afternoon, Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs said there were initially two calls to 911 around 10:52 p.m. lo‐ cal time Wednesday.

He said first responders arrived within minutes to the home on Berrigan Drive near Palmadeo Drive, a residential area close to two schools.

Police have identified five of the victims as a family of newcomers to Canada from Sri Lanka:

35-year-old mother Ban‐ daranayake Gama Walawwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake. Seven-year-old son Inuka Wickramasinghe. Four-year-old daughter Ash‐ wini Wickramasinghe. Threeyear-old daughter Ranaya Wickramasinghe. Twomonth-old daughter Kelly Wickramasinghe.

Police said Ekanayake's husband was injured and is currently in hospital in stable condition. He's since been identified as Dhanushka Wickramasinghe.

Another man, 40-year-old Gamini Amarakoon Ama‐ rakoon Mudiyanselage, was also killed.

Febrio De-Zoysa, 19, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Police said he is a Sri Lankan national who is believed to be in Canada as a student.

On Thursday evening, Al‐ gonquin College president Claude Brulé released a statement confirming DeZoysa was a student at the college and that "it appears his last semester of atten‐ dance was winter 2023."

He made his first court appearance late Thursday af‐ ternoon.

De-Zoysa spoke little, stat‐ ing his name and birthdate before sitting down.

He was ordered not to contact five people, one of whom is Dhanushka Wickra‐ masinghe.

De-Zoysa's next court ap‐ pearance is scheduled for March 14.

Police said De-Zoysa is al‐ so an acquaintance of the family and was living in the home at the time of the killings. He was arrested at the scene about 15 kilome‐ tres south of Ottawa's down‐ town core.

Chief Stubbs said the fam‐ ily's youngest daughter was born in Canada, and sug‐ gested the family members had arrived at different times.

He said Ottawa police had never dealt with either the suspect or the family, and had never been called to that address before Wednesday night.

'Unimaginable loss' During Thursday's update, Stubbs called the killings "a senseless act of violence per‐ petrated on purely innocent people."

He offered his condo‐ lences to the victims' loved ones "for this unimaginable loss."

"This [homicide] will un‐ doubtedly weigh on the hearts of everyone for a very long time," he said.

A memorial has been set up at nearby Palmadeo Park as police continue to ask people to avoid the scene of the crime.

Ottawa police said there is no ongoing risk to public safety.

In a letter to parents sent out Thursday afternoon, the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) confirmed the two eldest children were stu‐ dents in Grade 2 and junior kindergarten at Monsignor Paul Baxter School.

"Our deepest sympathies and sincerest condolences go to the families and loved ones of the victims during this incredibly challenging time. We cannot imagine the pain and sorrow they must be experiencing," wrote the school's principal Vincenza Nicoletti.

The school said grief counselling and crisis sup‐ port would be available for both students and staff, but said they weren't providing much more information to students "given the sensitiv‐ ity surrounding the event."

Shanti Ramesh, who lives across the street from the scene, told CBC she was watching TV late Wednesday night when she saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.

When she went outside, she saw a man screaming.

"I saw a guy was sitting on the driveway and yelling, so the police came and then they took him away," she said.

Police later identified the man as the father of the family.

Ramesh said she didn't re‐ alize until the following morning that a "major tragedy" had occurred, and said she's been feeling numb ever since.

WATCH | What neigh‐ bours saw:

"It's horrible," she told CBC.

Police confirmed Wednes‐ day's homicides are consid‐ ered the worst mass killing in the city's recent history.

'Knife-like' edged weapon used

Stubbs told reporters on Thursday afternoon that a edged "knife-like" edged weapon was used in the homicides.

In an earlier interview on CBC News Network, he had initially called the incident a "mass shooting," but it was not.

While police did not spec‐ ulate on a motive for the killings, Stubbs earlier told CBC investigators do not be‐ lieve it to be a case of inti‐ mate partner violence.

"This is a tragic file … and it will greatly impact the city of Ottawa, let alone the im‐ mediate neighbourhood in Barrhaven. So obviously we encourage everybody to reach out and get help to help manage themselves through this traumatic event," he said.

'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."

Asked about the incident Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sadness.

"Obviously our first reac‐ tions are all one of shock and horror at this terrible vio‐ lence," he said. "We are ex‐ pecting that the community reaches out to support family and friends, as Canadians al‐ ways do."

WATCH | Trudeau asked about Ottawa tragedy:

On social media, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe called it "one of the most shocking in‐ cidents of violence in our city's history."

In a later interview on CBC News Network, he said peo‐ ple in the community have been "stunned" by the news.

"In particular I know peo‐ ple are just devastated to hear that children are in‐ volved," Sutcliffe said. "I think that's what's most heart‐ breaking to me and to my family and to all Ottawa resi‐ dents, is to hear of violence on this scale and to know that children were victims ... it's just really incomprehensi‐ ble and unimaginable and absolutely devastating."

WATCH | Mayor Mark Sutcliffe on 'abhorrent' vio‐

lence:

Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod, whose riding in‐ cludes 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 sur‐ viving family, friends [and] playmates of the deceased," she said.

Coun. Wilson Lo, who rep‐ resents the area, said on so‐ cial media that he was "sad‐ dened to learn of the tragic loss of six Barrhaven neigh‐ bours," and that his thoughts are with their loved ones and people close by.