'A whole family ripped apart': Mourners gather to remember victims of Ottawa mass killing
CBC
Some 200 people showed up at a public multi-faith funeral service in Ottawa Sunday to mourn the six people killed more than a week ago in the city's Barrhaven suburb.
Organized by the Buddhist Congress of Canada (BCC), the service at the Infinity Convention Centre paid tribute to the victims: a family of newcomers to Canada from Sri Lanka and their friend.
According to police, four children and two adults were killed inside a suburban townhouse in south Ottawa on March 6.
Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, 35, was killed along with her three daughters — three-year-old Ranaya, four-year-old Ashwini, and two-month-old Kelly — and her seven-year-old son Inuka.
The body of a family friend, 40-year-old Gamini Amarakoon, who'd recently arrived in Canada from Sri Lanka, was also found at the scene.
Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, the family's father, survived the attack. He was injured with an edged weapon and taken to hospital.
Buddhist monks from Toronto and Ottawa led prayers and performed traditional funeral customs at Sunday's service.
They also thanked Ottawa's first responders for their work.
In a video message played at the funeral, Dishani Asangika Fernando, Amarakoon's wife, thanked him for being "a lovely husband [and] an amazing father all the time."
"I have a lot to tell, but right now I am speechless," she said.
"You [came here] to give a good future for our kids. But all our dreams just faded away in a way we never thought of."
WATCH | Buddhist prayer opens Sunday's funeral
Before the funeral, BCC president Naradha Kodituwakku told CBC News Network the tragedy is deeply affecting Sri Lankan and immigrant families in Barrhaven.
"For them to come here and have their life ended in such a short term ... we were devastated. We are still devastated," Kodituwakku said.
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