Ottawa police still have “a lot of work to do” to understand the links between the members of the family of Sri Lankan origin killed Wednesday evening and their alleged killer, who was staying under the same roof.
This tragedy, which left six dead and one injured, is one of “the most shocking incidents of violence in the history” of the federal capital, according to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. The chief of the Ottawa Police Service, Eric Stubbs, says for his part that this is the largest “mass killing” in the last 30 years in the city. “This is a senseless act of violence perpetrated against purely innocent people,” he said Thursday afternoon.
“We are working to notify the families of the deceased, several of whom are believed to be overseas. […] This is a very difficult, complex and active investigation,” added Deputy Chief of the Service, Trish Ferguson.
Ottawa police were called to a home in the Barrhaven neighborhood shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday. A father — “in great distress,” according to neighbors — screamed and asked to call 911. He was taken to the hospital; he is now in “serious but stable condition”.
Febrio De-Zoysa, 19, was “quickly” arrested when first responders arrived. The man was a “family acquaintance,” according to police. The young Sri Lankan national was in Canada for his studies and was living with the victims of the crime.
Mr. De-Zoysa faces six counts of first degree murder as well as one count of attempted murder. The person who allegedly used a “sharp object” to commit the irreparable has no medical history in terms of mental health, police said.
The family’s mother, Darshani Ekanyake, 35, was found dead in the home. Her four children, the youngest of whom was only two months old and born in Canada, were killed. A friend the family was hosting, Amarakoonmubiayanselan Ge Gamini Amarakoon, 40, was also murdered.
A neighborhood in shock
Thursday morning, numerous traces of blood were still visible on the door of a neighboring house and on the sidewalks in the area. Several neighbors, curious and in shock, then discovered the crime scene.
Such an event is “extremely rare” in Ottawa, particularly in this “peaceful” residential neighborhood, underlined Mark Sutcliffe. The Wickramasinghe family house is located near three schools, on a busy street in the area. Two of the children also attended a local school.
Thursday morning, a woman who rides her bike in the area every day turned back, frightened, when she learned the news while talking to journalists stationed in front of the crime scene.
Some feared that it was a burglary, and that it could “happen to anyone”. A concern that pushed Darren Eddy and Maura La Prova, two longtime neighbors who live on the other side of the intersection, to no longer feel safe even though the police kept repeating that there was no longer any danger. “It’s so terrifying… that it’s happening here, in Barrhaven,” whispers a neighbor who has lived a few houses away for 12 years. Most did not know the Wickramasinghe family, but several often encountered one of the girls, who cycled past their house. They describe calm and discreet people.
Police believe some family members may have arrived at different times in Canada. A neighbor, Matthew Kedroe, estimates she had occupied the house for about five years. ” But you know, [dans] this row of houses, you never know. Many of these houses are rented. »
Several municipal, provincial and federal elected officials from the federal capital reacted and offered their condolences to the family’s loved ones. Thursday afternoon, flowers were already starting to be placed in front of the victims’ house. A vigil will be held at Palmadeo Park, at the intersection of Palmadeo and Rodeo drives. Mayor Sutcliffe encouraged “families, community groups and workplaces across the city of Ottawa to observe a moment of silence” on Friday.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.