(Ottawa) The father who survived an attack called one of the city’s worst cases of mass violence by Ottawa’s mayor is thanking the public for their support.
Dhanushka Wickramasinghe issued her first public statement to police after hundreds of people gathered at a convention center on Sunday to mourn her family.
Police found his wife, 35-year-old Dharshini Ekanyake, their four children and a family friend dead in their Barrhaven home on March 6.
The father, who was taken to hospital that night with serious injuries, says he is ‘devastated and torn by the loss of my beloved wife’ and his children – his ‘beautiful angels’ – aged two months to seven years.
Mr Wickramasinghe said he mourned the life of “my dear friend Gamini”, who police said was staying with the family.
He credits first responders and hospital staff for helping him “get through the initial shock and chaos” that followed the tragedy.
The Sri Lankan man also said in Monday’s statement that he was grateful for the support of the Buddhist Congress of Canada, the Sri Lankan community in Ottawa and the general public “for their thoughts and prayers.”
A 19-year-old international student who also lived with the family at the time of his death has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Febrio De-Zoysa’s lawyer said last week that the young man’s family was devastated by the allegations and that due to their seriousness, he was being remanded in custody.
He is due in court on March 28.
Police have not publicly identified a motive for the alleged crimes.