Four children were among the six people killed in a Ottawa townhouse late Wednesday night, victims of what police have described as being a “horrific” mass shooting that has shaken the Canadian capital.
The grim discovery was made by officers just before midnight on Wednesday after they received a flurry of 911 calls. Once at the townhome in the suburb of Barrhaven, they discovered the bodies and a seventh gunshot victim who was rushed to a hospital.
Police have remained largely mum about a potential motive for the mass slaying, but Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs said he does not believe the shooting was an instance of “intimate partner violence,” CBC reported.
Stubbs said a man was taken into custody at the scene. He did not say if the victims and suspected gunman knew each other, nor did he say what sort of firearm was used.
The suspected gunman and his alleged victims have not been identified by authorities. Stubbs said there is no ongoing threat to the public.
“This is a tragic file… and it will greatly impact the city of Ottawa, let alone the immediate neighborhood in Barrhaven,” Stubbs said. “So obviously we encourage everybody to reach out and get help to help manage themselves through this traumatic event.”
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe addressed the shooting on Thursday morning, calling it “one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city’s history.”
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