SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — Two of three people from the same family who police say died in a murder-suicide in a rural area just east of Edmonton have been identified.
Police have said officers responding to a 911 call on Monday entered a residence where they found three bodies and a dead dog.
The Strathcona County RCMP said at a news conference Tuesday that a 55-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter were victims of homicide.
Mounties also said a 53-year-old man died from a self-inflicted injury, but they declined to say how the man was related to the mother and daughter.
The man has been identified as Gregory Gartner by multiple sources, including property records.
Moodys Tax, the company where Gartner worked, posted a statement on its website that said its team is "shocked and saddened by the tragic events regarding the loss of a colleague and his family."
The statement said it's impossible to understand what happened.
Neighbours told CTV Edmonton that Gartner lived in the home with his wife, Lois, and their two children.
Police have said the 911 call came in about 6:15 a.m. from another family member who had left the property.
"We're not speculating on why this may have happened," Dave Kalist, detachment commander for the Strathcona County RCMP," said at the news conference.
"Suffice it to say this is a tragedy where you have three deaths and there are family members that are still left behind to deal with this."
He said police have no records of previous family violence in the home and noted that the gun that was used was legally owned.
Neighbours said they heard gunshots early Monday morning.
Joe Tomanek, who runs a farm across from the property, said he and his staff weren't allowed to go through the road because it was blocked by police.
"One of the neighbours had passed on some information. He lives just south of the residence on the lake and he had heard a gunshot around 6 a.m.," Tomanek told CTV.
The road reopened around 11 a.m. Monday when police said there was no longer any danger to the public.
People have left flowers, a stuffed bunny and letters to the family at a small memorial that has started near the home.
Strathcona County Mayor Rod Frank, in a statement, called the deaths "heart-wrenching."
"We grieve together," he said. "I know there is a lot of pain that remains, and tragedy affects everyone in different ways."
Archbishop Jordan High School, a Catholic school in Sherwood Park, also posted a statement on Facebook.
"ABJ would like to offer our deepest sympathy for the tragic loss of three members of the Gartner family, who are part of our Strathcona County community," said the statement.
"We would like to offer prayers for the deceased and take solace in knowing they are in God's loving embrace."
(CTV Edmonton, The Canadian Press)
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2020
The Canadian Press
