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Ottawa Homicide Unit taking over crime scene with multiple victims confirmed deceased – CP24

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Stephanie Taylor and Mia Rabson, The Canadian Press


Published Thursday, March 7, 2024 5:38AM EST


Last Updated Thursday, March 7, 2024 4:31PM EST

OTTAWA – Blood spattered the sidewalk Thursday outside a suburban Ottawa home where police recovered the bodies of a mother, her four young children and a family friend from the aftermath of a vicious and unexplained attack.

Febrio De-Zoysa, a 19-year-old international student who had been living with the family, was to appear in court Thursday. Police say he faces six charges of first-degree murder.

“This was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on purely innocent people,” said Ottawa police Chief Eric Stubbs, who said a knife or other edged weapon was used in the attack.

De-Zoysa, a Sri Lankan national, was in Canada as a student, police said. He also faces one count of attempted murder in connection with the family’s father, who survived the rampage.

 

De-Zoysa appeared in an Ottawa courtroom Thursday afternoon in what looked like a clean, shiny black track shirt.

He mumbled his assent as the justice of the peace Andrew Seymour ordered him not to speak to the father who survived the attack, or to four other witnesses who provided statements to the police.

His case was adjourned until March 13 to give him time to find a lawyer.

The dead include Darshani Ekanyake, 35, along with her seven-year-old son, Inuka Wickramasinghe, and her three daughters: Ashwini, 4; two-year-old Rinyana; and Kelly, a two-and-a-half-month-old baby.

Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gemini Amarakoon, 40, was also killed in the attack. He was also living with the family and had recently arrived from Sri Lanka, Stubbs said.

The chief said two emergency calls came in at 10:52 p.m. Wednesday describing a man in distress outside in his driveway, screaming for someone to call 911.

Stubbs later identified that man as the family’s husband and father, who is identified in court documents as Dhanushka Wickramasinghe.

He was injured and remains in hospital in serious condition, but his injuries are not life-threatening, authorities say.

Shanti Ramesh, who lives across the street from the family, said she heard a commotion late in the evening. From her balcony, she saw a man sitting in the driveway, yelling.

When police arrived they helped carry him away, though it did appear that he was able to walk on his own, Ramesh said.

The killings took place inside a townhome in Barrhaven, a fast-growing suburb about 20 kilometres south of Ottawa’s downtown core. The brick rowhouse sits on a relatively busy through street, which Thursday morning was crawling with police and onlookers, as well as parents and kids heading to one of the two elementary schools nearby.

A trail of blood droplets was still visible on the sidewalk in front of the row of brick townhomes Thursday afternoon. The door of the townhome immediately beside the victims’ residence was also smeared with blood.

A vigil has been set up in a nearby park but some residents, feeling the grief of the event, left bouquets of tulips on the front lawn of the townhouse.

Stubbs said the first officers on the scene identified and arrested the suspect very quickly, before entering the home to find the bodies of all six victims.

He said police are limited in the details they can provide to protect the integrity of the investigation.

“We know there are a lot of questions about why this tragedy occurred. This is the focus of our homicide unit as they diligently investigate this tragic crime.”

De-Zoysa is the only suspect in the case, Stubbs took pains to note.

Stubbs could not say how long the family or the accused had been in Ottawa, but that the baby was born in the city. Police had no interactions with any of the victims or the accused before Wednesday, he added.

Don Perera, who lives nearby, said he met the father at a Halloween party at the kids’ school last fall, and Ekanyake was pregnant at that time. He said they got to talking because he too is from Sri Lanka.

A spokesperson at the Sri Lanka high commission said they are in touch with family members of the deceased in the country’s capital of Colombo.

Police remained at the home throughout the night, and a heavy presence was in still in place as the neighbourhood began to wake up Thursday.

Multiple police cars and a coroner’s van were parked in the driveway, on the street and in neighbouring driveways Thursday morning. Forensic investigators in white jumpsuits moved in and out of the home.

Uniformed police officers held a white sheet to block the view of the door as the investigators carried the bodies out shortly after 9 a.m.

Neighbours walking their kids to school were horrified by the scene unfolding before them.

“This is unbelievable for the whole neighbourhood,” said Ahmed Saed, as he walked his 11-year-old son to school.

Katie McNelly, who lives a short drive away, said she considered keeping her kids home until the police made clear there was no ongoing threat. She said she is in disbelief that it happened.

“What could cause someone or people to do this, you know, annihilate six people that had their lives to lead,” she said. “I’ll definitely be hugging my family a bit tight tonight.”

Neighbours believe some of the family’s children attended a nearby Catholic school.

Sharlene Hunter, a spokesperson for the Ottawa Catholic School Board, said she had not been told if the children attended one of the board’s schools but said students and staff will be provided with any assistance or support they need.

“We at the Ottawa Catholic School Board want to express our deep sorrow for the tragic events that occurred in the Barrhaven community,” she said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected by this loss.”

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe joined Stubbs for the afternoon news conference and said Barrhaven and Ottawa are safe and welcoming places.

“It’s hard to believe that something like this could happen there or anywhere else in our city,” Sutcliffe said.

Police said nobody can remember a murder involving this many victims in the city.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it a “terrible tragedy.”

“Our first reactions are all ones of shock and horror at this terrible violence,” he said in Toronto.

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.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.

– With files from Mickey Djuric.

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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