Investigators in western Canada have sought to unravel what caused a depressed man to kill eight people - including two children - and then take his own life.
The killings, between Monday and Tuesday in the city of Edmonton, in Alberta province, have left residents of the snowy city reeling.
Investigators say they were carried out by a man of Vietnamese origin who had been living in Canada for a long time and had a lengthy criminal past.
He first entered a home where he shot dead a 37-year-old Cindy Duong on Monday then travelled to a different part of the city and used a handgun to kill seven other people in a different home.
Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht said the attack was planned, deliberate and the worst mass killing in the city's history.
"In my 39 years of policing, I've never seen anything like it," Knecht said on Wednesday.
"It's chaotic, horrific," he added when referring to the crime scene. "This is a horrific event for the city."
According to police, the suspect co-owned the house where the seven people were killed. The bodies of two children less than 10 years old were found there, along with the corpses of three women and two men aged between 25 and 50.
After the presumed killer carried out the attacks, he drove to a Vietnamese restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan, a northeastern suburb of Edmonton, and killed himself.
Authorities indicated that the suspect had a business interest in the restaurant.
The man was 57, according to local media. Police have not yet released his name.
The tragedy is being classed as domestic violence, although police have not disclosed how the victims and the perpetrator may have been related.
Investigators say the presumed killer had a history of police contacts dating back to 1987, including for domestic violence and sexual assault. He was also in deep financial distress.
Authorities plan to only release the identities of the other victims and the killer after post-mortem results are available.
The killings were carried out with a 9mm handgun stolen in neighbouring British Colombia in 2006, police said.
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
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