Family, community come together around sacred fire for support in wake of rooming-house killings

About 80 people gathered around a sacred fire Tuesday evening in Winnipeg's North End to pay their respects and support the families of five victims of a mass shooting early Sunday morning at a West Broadway rooming house.

Four people were killed and one other remains in hospital. Family members of two of the dead, sisters Crystal and Stephanie Beardy who are originally from Lake St. Martin First Nation, were among those at the vigil.

"This is a tragedy to us all," Roberta Owen, Crystal and Stephanie's aunt, told reporters. "It's a big tragedy to all that are involved."

Owen, who lives in Winnipeg, comforted her sister Beverley Beardy, the mother of the women killed, as community members drummed, gave offerings of tobacco along with prayers for the families outside the Ma Mawi Centre on King Street.

"It helps a lot," Owen said. "It's not going to take any pain away, we have to grieve, we have to feel it. Everything still has to go on in our lives. It's just hard right now."

Winnipeg police have not announced any arrests in the case, which Owen said has left her sister feeling unsafe.

"My sister was scared to come here thinking someone was going to come here and (cause) harm." Owen said. "We had to tell her it's not going to be. There's, I'm sure, police surveillance all around here."

WATCH | Sacred fire honours victims of mass shooting: 

Police had few new details Tuesday but officers remained at the rooming house which was still surrounded by yellow tape. Forensics officers are expected to be at the scene for an extended period due to the nature of the crime.

"Forensics play a considerable role in any investigation, no different in this case," Const. Jason Michalyshen said in an email to CBC. "Witness accounts and tips from the public assist us immensely. The pace of an investigation can vary; they can evolve over days, weeks or even months."

Investigators do not know why the victims were together in the suite at the rooming house. The property owner told CBC News none of them were tenants.

Police also have not confirmed whether a single person shot all of the victims or whether there were multiple shooters.

Owen said her nieces' deaths have taken a big toll on the family and has left their mother numb. Crystal was a mother of two boys and was living in Winnipeg, while Stephanie, a mother of two girls, was visiting the city from Lake St. Martin.

She described her nieces as jokesters, who had happy spirits and were always laughing, which is how she wants them remembered.