Family killed in Canada identified; suspect held
Six people, including a mother, her four young children, and a family acquaintance, were killed inside a townhouse in the south Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven.
During a media briefing Thursday afternoon, Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs said there were initially two calls to 911 around 10:52 p.m. Wednesday.
He said first responders arrived within minutes to the home on Berrigan Drive near Palmadeo Drive, a residential area close to two schools.
Police have identified five of the victims as a family of newcomers to Canada from Sri Lanka. They are:
• Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake (35-year-old mother)
• Inuka Wickramasinghe (7-year-old son)
• Ashwini Wickramasinghe (4-year-old daughter)
• Rinyana Wickramasinghe (2-year-old daughter)
• Kelly Wickramasinghe (2-month-old daughter)
Police said Ekanayake’s husband was injured and is currently in hospital in stable condition.
He’s since been identified as Dhanushka Wickramasinghe.
Another man, 40-year-old Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, was also killed.
Febrio De-Zoysa, 19, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Police said he is a Sri Lankan national believed to be in Canada as a student.
On Thursday evening, Algonquin College president Claude Brule released a statement confirming De-Zoysa was a student at the college and that “it appears his last semester of attendance was Winter 2023.”
He made his first court appearance late Thursday afternoon.
De-Zoysa spoke little, stating his name and birthdate before sitting down.
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