A check for reassurance leads Ottawa police to uncover the tragedy of the murder of two children and the death of their father

Ottawa —
A call from a neighbor requesting a welfare check led to the discovery of a family tragedy in south Ottawa, after police found two children killed inside a home in the Leitrim area.

According to initial data, Ottawa police are treating the incident as a double homicide followed by a suicide, after the children’s father was later found dead inside a burned vehicle in Kemptville, south of the capital.

The police are also investigating a possible connection between the incident and a fire that broke out at a commercial facility in the city of Iroquois, which extended the investigation to three different locations in eastern Ontario.

The police said the children were 7 and 12 years old, and that their mother does not live in the home where they were found, while investigators are working on collecting statements from family members and those around them to understand the background leading up to the tragedy.

The investigations are still in their early stages, with investigators focusing on reconstructing the timeline of events, determining the relationship between the three locations, and finding out whether the fires related to the vehicle and the commercial facility are part of the same incident.

The police confirmed that there is no indication of an ongoing threat to public safety, but described the case as complex and painful, given the nature of the incident and the young age of the victims.

The tragedy has caused widespread shock in Ottawa, especially in the local community in the Leitrim area, where neighbors and residents began to grasp the magnitude of the disaster that was revealed after a simple report aimed at checking on the family.