Six Sri Lankans knifed to death in Canadian capital in rare case of mass murder

A 19-year-old male student from Sri Lanka had been arrested and charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder

Police cars are parked at the scene where six people were found dead in the Barrhaven suburb of Ottawa on Thursday

Six people from Sri Lanka, including a mother and four young children, were knifed to death in the Canadian capital Ottawa late on Wednesday, police said on Thursday, rocking a country where mass murders are rare.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said he was horrified by what he called a "terrible tragedy." The father of the family was also wounded in the attack and is in hospital.