The Canadian police announced on Thursday that six individuals, including four children, were fatally stabbed in a mass stabbing incident in the capital, Ottawa.
A 19-year-old suspect from Sri Lanka has been apprehended in connection with the attack, as reported by “Russia Today.”
According to Canadian authorities, the Sri Lankan student, aged 19, is accused of stabbing and killing six people, including four children from a Sri Lankan family, with whom he was residing.
The Ottawa Police Chief, Eric Stubbs, confirmed the arrest of the suspect, stating that the 19-year-old allegedly used a “sharp weapon” or a “knife-like instrument” during the incident.
Stubbs said the deceased are Sri Lankan nationals who recently came to Canada. He said they include a 35-year-old mother, a 7-year-old son, a 4-year-old daughter, a 2-year-old daughter and a 2 1/2-month-old baby girl as well as a 40-year-old acquaintance of the family.
The police chief said when the first officers arrived at the home the family’s father was outside and screaming for someone to call 911. Police received two emergency calls at 10:52 p.m. Wednesday.
Sri Lanka’s high commission in Ottawa earlier confirmed the victims were a family of Sri Lankan nationals. The high commission said the father survived but his wife and children died, adding that it is in touch with relatives in the country’s capital, Colombo.
The accused was expected to make a court appearance later Thursday.
Police were called to the home in the Barrhaven area just before 11 p.m. Wednesday night. A suspect was arrested quickly after that, and police said there was no continuing threat to public safety.
