SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — RCMP are investigating a murder-suicide involving three members of the same family in a rural area east of Edmonton.
Police say they received a 911 call at 6:14 a.m. Monday from a family member who had left the property.
Mounties, including an emergency response team, evacuated the surrounding area as a precaution and entered a residence where they found three bodies and a dead dog.
"A mother and daughter died as a result of homicide and the male as a result of a self-inflicted injury," Supt. Dave Kalist, detachment commander for the Strathcona County RCMP, said at a news conference Tuesday.
The dead include a 13-year-old girl and a 55-year-old woman.
Kalist said the 53-year-old man shot himself, but Kalist declined to say how the man was related to the mother and daughter.
He said officers hadn't been at the home before Monday.
"We don't have a record of any previous family or domestic violence."
Kalist said police will not release the names of those who died to respect the privacy of remaining family members so they can deal with what he called a horrific tragedy.
"We are not speculating on why this might have happened.
A firearm that was used was not restricted and legally owned, he added. And investigators will continue their work.
"Any time you have three deaths that are of this manner ... even though we won't have a trial, we still have to ensure all the facts are gathered and that we have done a thorough investigation."
Kalist said there are supports available for people if they are feeling anxious about the deaths.
"I would encourage them to reach out to friends or family," he said. "Access those professional resources that are available to everybody in the community.
"It's not easy but there are people out there who can help."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2020
The Canadian Press
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version said the man who killed himself was 55.
