Six adults and two children have been shot dead in Canada by a man described by his family as "depressed and overly emotional," police in Edmonton, Alberta, said Tuesday.
The suspect, who had a criminal record going back to 1987, reportedly killed himself after carrying out the "senseless mass murder" of seven victims, including two "very young" children, inside a house in north Edmonton, said Edmonton Police Chief Ron Knecht, adding that the gruesome violence was linked to "extreme domestic violence."
"This series of events are not believed to be random acts and there is no risk to the broader public," he said. "These events do not appear to be gang related but rather tragic incidents of domestic violence."
The incident unfolded in three different locations in Edmonton, a city of about 812,000 people in the western Canada province of Alberta, BBC News reported.
About 7 p.m. Monday, officers responded to a weapons complaint at a residence in southwest Edmonton, Knecht said. "It is alleged a male entered a private residence, discharged a firearm and fled," he said, adding that a dead body of a middle-aged woman was discovered inside the house.
Authorities received another call at 8:30 p.m. asking them to check on a man at a house in north Edmonton. "According to the family, the male seemed depressed and overly emotional," Knecht said. "The family was concerned the male might be suicidal."
However since they didn't receive a response when they went to the house and found nothing suspicious, they left. After receiving new information, the police returned back around 12:30 a.m. and found seven people dead: three adult women, two adult males, a male child and a female child, Knecht said.
Shortly after, the gunman reportedly used a stolen 9mm handgun to commit suicide at a restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan, about 20 miles from Edmonton. His black SUV, connected to the first killing, had been spotted and reported around 2:20 a.m., according to CNN.
"It appears to be an extreme case of domestic violence gone awry," he told a press conference, describing the killings as "planned and deliberate".
"We are not looking for other suspects," Knecht added.
So far, authorities have identified only one victim, 37-year-old Cyndi Duong, and revealed that all the victims were connected. But they declined to detail the relationship between the gunman and his victims.
"We trust that the police agencies' investigations will help provide answers as we struggle to understand this tragic turn of events. In the meantime, on behalf of the government of Alberta, I extend our deepest condolences to the people affected by this incident, and our appreciation to public servants who provided a professional response during what must have been dangerous and difficult circumstances," Alberta Premier Jim Prentice said.
