International Courant
The victims of a uncommon mass homicide in Ottawa included 4 youngsters and two adults. A 19-year-old acquaintance was arrested.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has condemned the bloodbath of an Ottawa household who had lately moved from Sri Lanka, calling it an act of “horrible violence.”
Trudeau’s feedback on Thursday got here within the hours after a household and their acquaintance had been killed in an obvious late-night stabbing within the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven.
The victims embody a 35-year-old lady and her 4 youngsters, aged seven, 4, two and two months. A 40-year-old household pal was additionally killed.
The assault has resonated throughout Canada, the place, not like its southern neighbor the US, mass assaults are uncommon. There have been solely fourteen murders in 2023 in Ottawa, a metropolis of 1 million inhabitants. The yr earlier than there have been solely fifteen.
“Clearly our preliminary reactions are all shock and horror at this horrible violence,” Trudeau advised reporters.
“We anticipate the neighborhood to achieve out to assist household and buddies, as Canadians all the time do. And we anticipate the suitable police to do the job and maintain us all knowledgeable about this horrible tragedy.”
An Ottawa Police Service officer stands at a blood-stained door in Barrhaven, a suburb of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada (Blair Gable/Reuters)
The motive for the killing was not instantly clear, though police stated 19-year-old Febrio De-Zoysa, a scholar from Sri Lanka, has been arrested and charged with six counts of first-degree homicide and one rely of tried homicide.
Police stated De-Zoysa was an acquaintance who was staying with the household however had no earlier contact with police.
‘Mindless act’
Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs stated in a televised information convention that the household was present in a home after authorities responded to an emergency name shortly earlier than 11pm native time (2am GMT Thursday) on Wednesday.
The husband of the 35-year-old mom killed within the assault was injured however survived and was taken to a hospital in secure situation. De-Zoysa was arrested on the scene.
Stubbs stated an “edgy weapon” was used within the killings.
“This was a mindless act of violence in opposition to purely harmless individuals,” he stated.
On social media, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe referred to as the assault “one of the vital stunning incidents of violence within the historical past of our metropolis.”
I used to be devastated to be taught of the a number of homicide in Barrhaven, one of the vital stunning incidents of violence in our metropolis’s historical past. We’re proud to reside in a protected neighborhood, however this information is disturbing for all Ottawa residents. Ginny and I consider the family and…
— Mark Sutcliffe (@_MarkSutcliffe) March 7, 2024
Mass murders are comparatively uncommon in Canada, which has a inhabitants of simply over 38 million. Nevertheless, 2022 noticed two outstanding assaults. In December of that yr, a person shot 5 individuals in a Toronto suburb earlier than being fatally shot by police.
A number of months earlier, in September, a person additionally stabbed 11 individuals to demise within the western province of Saskatchewan. He died of a cocaine overdose shortly after his arrest.
The variety of such assaults is way decrease than within the US, which has a inhabitants of 331 million. In 2023, there have been 42 mass murders, outlined as incidents by which 4 or extra victims had been killed, in accordance with Northeastern College’s mass homicide database.
The quantity was the second highest within the US since 2006, the yr the database started monitoring mass killings. In 2019, there have been 46 assaults, leading to 234 victims.
‘Horrible tragedy’: Canada shocked by mass homicide of Sri Lankan household | Crime information
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