Six individuals he resided with, including a two and a half-month-old newborn girl and three other children from a Sri Lankan family, are allegedly killed by stabbing by a 19-year-old student from Sri Lanka, Ottawa police said on Thursday. Febrio De-Zoysa, the suspect, was claimed to have used a “knife-like object” or “edged weapon,” according to Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs. Six first-degree murder charges and one attempted murder count are against him. In Canada, mass murders are uncommon. According to Stubbs, the dead were citizens of Sri Lanka who had just moved to Canada. According to him, they consist of a 35-year-old mother, a 7-year-old son, a 4-year-old daughter, a 2-year-old daughter, and a 2-and-a-half-month-old baby girl, in addition to a 40-year-old family friend. According to the police chief, the family’s father was outside the house yelling for someone to call 911 when the first policemen arrived. Two emergency calls were received by police on Wednesday at 10:52 p.m. The father has major but non-life-threatening injuries, and he is in the hospital. Stubbs said, “This was a senseless act of violence committed against purely innocent people.” The high commission of Sri Lanka claimed it maintains communication with family members residing in the nation’s capital, Colombo. On Thursday, De-Zoysa appeared briefly in court and muttered his consent when the judge of the peace gave him the order to refrain from speaking with the father who survived the assault or the four other witnesses who gave testimonies to the police. He was given until March 13 to locate legal representation, so his case was postponed. Wednesday night, just before 11 p.m., police were summoned to the residence in the Barrhaven neighborhood. After then, the suspect was apprehended without delay, and authorities declared that there was no ongoing risk to public safety. Neighbor Don Perera said he was at a Halloween celebration at the local Catholic primary school last year when he first saw the family who resided in the house. The father, he added, was Sri Lankan. Late on Wednesday, Shanti Ramesh, who lives across the street, heard some noise. She saw a guy sitting on the home’s driveway and shouting from her balcony before two police officers came and took him away. The residence, which is the middle unit in a series of brick townhouses, had five marked police vehicles parked on the street and in driveways early on Thursday morning. Throughout the early morning, a number of persons wearing white jumpsuits came and went from the house, while children and parents rode and walked by on their way to the local primary school. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “Our initial reactions are all ones of shock and horror at this terrible violence.” The news, according to Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, is upsetting for everyone living in the city. It’s difficult to believe, he said. “It’s heartbreaking and devastating.” Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, 35, her mother; Inuka Wickramasinghe, 7 years old; Ashwini Wickramasinghe, 4 years old; Rinyana Wickramasinghe, 2 years old; and Kelly Wickramasinghe, 2 1/2 months old, are the victims, according to the police. Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, forty, was discovered to be the sixth victim, dead as well
Seoul, South Korea: State media on Friday stated that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw artillery fire exercises meant to improve war preparedness. This came days after his nation threatened to retaliate militarily against the current South Korean-US military exercises, which it views as an invasion practice.
Frontline artillery units, whose weaponry put Seoul, the capital of South Korea, within striking range, participated in the exercises on Thursday, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
According to Kim, when artillery forces enter a real conflict, they should “take the initiative with merciless and rapid strikes,” according to KCNA.
Situated around 40 to 50 kilometers (25 to 30 miles) from the North Korean border, Seoul, a metropolis of 10 million people, is seriously threatened by North Korea’s forward-deployed long-range artillery systems.
The annual military exercises between the United States and South Korea are scheduled to conclude on March 14. In response, North Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it will carry out undefined “responsible military activities.” On Wednesday, Kim made a visit to an operational training facility in the West and advocated for improved warfighting capabilities.
The joint South Korean-US maneuvers started on Monday and include 48 different types of field exercises—double the amount from the previous year—as well as a computer-simulated command post training.
Military drills between the United States and South Korea are seen by North Korea as a serious security risk and as a pretext for attacking the country. Officials from Washington and Seoul have said that their exercises are defensive in character.
Since 2022, North Korea has significantly increased the pace of its missile testing as part of its ambitions to build more potent nuclear warheads that are aimed at South Korea and the U.S. mainland. In response, the U.S. and South Korean armies increased the scope of their exercises.
Experts predict that when negotiation resumes, North Korea would probably try to utilize its upgraded arsenal to get the US to lift its sanctions. They claim that since this year marks significant elections in both South Korea and the United States, North Korea may step up its nuclear testing and adopt a more belligerent language.
