Six Sri Lankans, including four children, killed in mass stabbing in Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa police said Febrio De-Zoysa, a 19-year-old male student from Sri Lanka, had been arrested and charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Six people from Sri Lanka, including a mother and four young children, were stabbed to death in the Canadian capital Ottawa late on Wednesday. The father of the family was also injured in the attack and is in hospital. Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs said an “edged weapon” or “knife-like object” was used by the suspect, identified as Febrio De-Zoysa. Police said Febrio De-Zoysa, a 19-year-old male student from Sri Lanka, had been arrested and charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. De-Zoysa knew the family and lived in the house, they said.

The dead include Darshani Ekanyake, 35, along with her seven-year-old son, Inuka Wickramasinghe, and her three daughters: Ashwini, 4; Rinyana, 2; and Kelly, two and a half months, born in Canada.

The police chief said when the first officers arrived at the home, the father of the family was outside yelling for someone to call 911. Police received two emergency calls on Wednesday at 10:52 p.m. The father is in hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries. “This was a senseless act of violence committed against purely innocent people,” Stubbs said.

Stubbs said they were new to the country. The Sri Lankan High Commission has confirmed that the family are Sri Lankan nationals and that contact is underway with their relatives in the country’s capital, Colombo.

According to the Canadian PressAnother Sri Lankan, Amarakoonmubiayansela Gemini Amarakoon, 40, was also killed in the attack. Stubbs described him as a family friend who also lived in the mansion and had recently arrived in Canada.

Stubbs said two emergency calls came in Wednesday at 10:52 p.m., describing a man in distress outside in his driveway, screaming for someone to call 911. Stubbs later identified that man as the father.

Shanti Ramesh, who lives across the street from the family, said she heard a commotion late in the evening. From her balcony she saw a man screaming in the driveway. When police arrived, they helped carry him away, although he appeared to be able to walk on his own, Ramesh said.

The killings took place at a townhome in Barrhaven, a fast-growing suburb about 20 kilometers south of downtown Ottawa.