Police say a male found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside an Oshawa home where four others were shot to death early Friday morning is believed to be the only suspect in the tragic attack.
Officers were called to a house on Parklane Avenue, near Harmony Road North and King Street East, at around 1:20 a.m. after receiving “numerous calls” for a reported shooting, Durham Regional Police Const. George Tudos told reporters on Friday morning.
“It was quite a chaotic scene. Even for the residents in the area. A lot of callers calling in stating that they were hearing a lot of the gunshots, a lot of screaming coming from this residence, he said.
“A lot of people did hear the gunshots and contacted 911 immediately so we were here within minutes.”
He said officers from all divisions rushed to the area, including members of the tactical support unit.
When they arrived on scene, they actually did also hear what they believed to be gunshots coming from a residence. They were eventually able to enter one of the residences here on Parklane, where they made a grisly discovery.”
Police have confirmed that three males and one female were shot to death inside the home and another woman was taken to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
The body of a fifth person, who police believe to be the gunman, was located inside the home and investigators say he sustained what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The surviving victim is expected to make a full recovery, Tudos added.
“They were all family members and they were all known to each other. As far as the suspect goes, I don’t believe he resides at the residence but I am still waiting for the homicide team to confirm those details,” Tudos said.
The ages of the victims have not been released but Tudos confirmed that two are under the age of 18.
“We still need to confirm the identity of those victims and this will all be done with the assistance of the coroner, who should be arriving at some point today,” he said.
Police are not currently searching for any additional suspects.
There is nothing to suggest that there is any suspect on the loose and right now we can confirm that there are no community safety concerns, Tudos noted.
He said it appears the weapon used in the deadly attack was a long gun.
Police are also investigating whether an unknown white Ford pickup truck with Manitoba plates found parked on the street overnight is connected to the case.
“That vehicle that was located in front of the residence. It was parked the wrong way facing oncoming traffic,” Tudos said.
“That vehicle was seized by our forensic officers so we are going to be examining that vehicle and trying to link that to this crime scene, trying to see whether or not it is the suspect’s vehicle.”
Police will also be reviewing security video in the neighbourhood to try to piece together the sequence of events.
“We are going to look at video surveillance just to confirm when it happened, how long it took place,” Tudos said.
He said officers and paramedics who responded to the incident as well as members of the community are “shaken up” by the devastating incident that unfolded in the quiet neighbourhood just hours ago.
“I don’t think we have come into this area for any major incidents,” Tudos said.
“We do have a crisis team that have arrived and they are going to speak with the officers involved and anyone who may need some support during this difficult time.”
Shortly before 3:30 p.m., police say they found a suspicious item inside the residence. As a precaution, police have cleared the scene at this time.
The bomb disposal unit has been called to determine if the item is a threat.
“We want to make sure that safety comes first,” Tudos said.
Couple who live in home are teachers, neighbours say
Neighbours told CP24 that a couple and their four children have lived for many years at the residence where the shooting took place.
“This family has lived here as long as I’ve lived here, 27 years, and they were very quiet,” George Oudyk said on Friday morning.
One neighbour described the couple, who reportedly work as teachers in the region, as “super kind people” who were “very involved in the community.”
“They were very happy, outgoing, very family-oriented people,” he said.
Oudyk called the neighbourhood where the gunfire erupted early this morning as “just the nicest place to live.”
“This is a quiet neighbourhood. Everyone gets along. There is a park here at the end of the street and everybody walks their dogs, eats there,” he added. Its just really sad.read more
Two teens among five people found dead after shooting inside Oshawa residence: Durham Regional Police – CP24 Toronto’s Breaking News
