By Joy SpearChief-Morris, Mark Colley, and Jennifer Pagliaro

Police have charged a 19-year-old man with the murder of two adults and four children in an Ottawa-area townhouse Wednesday night, which police say is the largest murder in recent memory in the city.

Febrio De-Zoysa is believed to be in Canada from Sri Lanka as a student and was living in the house, police said. He has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Police found the victims — a Sri Lankan family that was new to Canada — inside the home at what they described as “a horrific scene,” after being called just before 11 p.m. to Barrhaven, a quiet suburb.

“This was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on purely innocent people,” Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs said. “This one will undoubtedly weigh on the hearts of everyone for a long time.”

A mother, 35, and four children died from injuries from a “knifelike object.” A 40-year-old family acquaintance living at the house was also found dead.

The father was injured and transported to hospital, where he is in serious but stable condition.

De-Zoysa appeared briefly in an Ottawa courtroom on Elgin Street just before 4 p.m. Thursday, broadcast on Zoom, stating only his name and birthdate for the justice of the peace.

He will remain in custody until next week, with duty counsel requesting the matter be adjourned until then to give him the chance to retain his own counsel.

He was ordered not to communicate with a list of people, which included the surviving victim.

Police say they were first called to the scene around 10:52 p.m. Wednesday, when a man was seen yelling outside the house and asking people to call 9-1-1. Upon arrival minutes later, officers identified and arrested De-Zoysa without incident.

Police responded late Wednesday to a 911 call in Barrhaven, a suburban community in Ottawa’s southwest, to find six people dead. One person was arrested at the scene.

That’s when the officers entered the home and discovered the victims — mother Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, children Inuka, 7, Ashwini, 4, Rinyana, 2 and Kelly, 2 months. Family acquaintance Amarakoon mubiayanselaGe Gamini Amarakoon, 40, was also found deceased.

Two of the children, Inuka and Ashwini, were students at the nearby Monsignor Paul Baxter School, according to an email sent to parents by the school’s president. Inuka was in Grade 2 and Ashwini was in junior kindergarten.

“Our deepest sympathies and sincerest condolences go to the families and loved ones of the victims,” principal Vincenza Nicoletti wrote. “We cannot imagine the pain and sorrow they must be experiencing.”

Nicoletti said grief counseling and crisis support will be available to students and staff. The school has not told students about the news, Nicoletti wrote.

A vigil has been set-up at Palmadeo Park near the house.
Police are working to notify families of the deceased, many of whom live overseas.
“This was a mass killing, not a mass shooting,” Stubbs said. “(De-Zoysa) is the only suspect.”
Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe said the news has “shaken” Ottawa residents, especially those in the “wonderful and rapidly-growing” Barrhaven community.

“It’s hard to believe something like this could happen there or anywhere else in our city,” Sutcliffe said. “It is very difficult to think about, very difficult to process.”

Police are asking people to stay away from the crime scene as officials continue to investigate.
On Thursday morning, five marked police cars were parked on the street and in driveways near the home, which is a middle unit in a row of brick townhouses. It was a grisly scene with blood smeared on the door of the neighbouring house and on the sidewalk.
A neighbourhood stunned
News of the deaths spread quickly in the community described by many in the neighbourhood as very peaceful and quiet.

Mark Wong lives a few doors down from where the homicide took place. He said he was watching a movie at around 11 p.m. when he heard a scream and saw a man covered in blood run from the house to a police car just down the street. Wong said a group of police cruisers arrived shortly after.

Wong said he didn’t know the family but always saw a man, around late 30s or early 40s, wash his car out front. “He always looked nice and smiled,” Wong said.

Shanti Ramesh, who lives across the street, was alerted to a commotion late Wednesday. From her balcony, she said she saw a man sitting on the driveway of the home and yelling before two police officers arrived and carried him away.

Several more police cruisers and an ambulance arrived on the scene shortly afterward, Ramesh said.

Sayed Ahmadi said he arrived home at almost midnight on Wednesday evening and wasn’t able to park his car because of the police presence. He said he didn’t know the family and said they were new to the neighbourhood. On Thursday morning, blood spatter was still visible just outside his car.

“This is very sad,” Ahmadi said.

Barrhaven is a fast-growing suburb about 20 kilometres south of the city’s downtown core. The townhouse is located on Berrigan Drive, a busy through street located within a block of two different elementary schools.

Neighbours, many of them walking their kids to school Thursday morning, were stunned by the scene.
Ahmed Saed said he lives nearby and walks his son past the home every morning.

“This is unbelievable for the whole neighbourhood,” Saed said.

Sharlene Rollins, who lives down the street from the house and can see it from her back window, said she ran into other parents while walking her kids to school.

“You could feel that we didn’t really want to chat about it with the kids around,” Rollins told the Star.

“It’s kind of a boring little part of town,” Rollins said. “You know that people are gonna know them and there’s gonna be friends who’ve lost friends today and family who’ve lost family today.”
Katie McNelly, who lives a short drive away, said she is in disbelief.

“I’ll definitely be hugging my family a bit tight tonight,” she said.

Police said investigative teams remain at the site and asked anyone with information to contact the homicide unit.

Wilson Lo, the city councillor for the area, said he woke up to a phone call sharing the news and a number of “concerned and anxious” residents have contacted him.

“There is certainly a level of shock from residents,” Lo told the Star. “These are people’s neighbours, somebody’s friends, somebody’s classmates at school.

Police went door-to-door in Barrhaven the next morning to hear from potential witnesses.

At Queen’s Park, MPPs, some of whom were visibly shaken, held a moment’s silence to remember the victims of the Barrhaven tragedy.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also offered his condolences.

“This morning’s news is heartbreaking,” he said on X. “My thoughts are with the family and friends of the six victims and the entire Ottawa community who is reeling from this terrible tragedy.”

Courtesy;The Toronto Star