Six People Killed On Berrigan Drive, One In Custody

What started out to be a day of near record warmth ended in the coldest and darkest way.

Six people – four of them were children – were found dead at their home on Berrigan Drive Thurs., March 7. The bodies were found by Ottawa Police Service officers who responded to a 9-1-1 call that was made at 10:52 p.m.

Identities of the victims have not been released by police at this time. Police have one suspect in custody, and there is no longer a threat to public safety.

There was one survivor in the incident.

The incident is the worst in Barrhaven since the 2013 Via train-OC Transpo bus crash that claimed the lives of six people. The difference, of course, is that the crash was an accident, while this is being treated as a homicide.

The community woke up to the shocking news, as the OPS announced the incident in a press release at 6:15 a.m. Bystanders called it the most heinous crime to ever take place in the community. Barrhaven has seen a handful of murders in the last generation, but they have had only one victim. In the last 20 years, the deaths of Jennifer Teague, Michael Swan, Jagtar Gill, Linda Frederick have shaken the community to the core. But never has Barrhaven seen an incident with six people killed.

Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs commented that the police “do not believe the incident was domestic or involved an intimate partner-related incident.” There was an Ottawa Police cruiser in the driveway and a couple of police cruisers parked on Berrigan in front of the townhouse.

Stubbs said that a briefing with more details will be made later today.

The Barrhaven Independent will update this story as more details become available.

(Featured image: Charlie Senack)