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Public funeral service for Ottawa's mass killing victims to take place Sunday
A multi-faith funeral service for the victims of Ottawa’s mass killing is set to take place Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Buddhist Congress of Canada (BCC) and an organizing committee of volunteers confirmed in a news release on Thursday that the funeral will be a public event.
It will be held at the Infinity Convention Center at 2901 Gibford Dr. in Ottawa.
Meanwhile, the BCC confirms that the surviving father -- Dhanushka Wickramasinghe -- is recovering physically. The BCC says notes that "mentally he will require psychological support to overcome last week’s events and requests privacy as he mourns the loss of his family.”
It adds that at this time, he will not be making any comments to the media. He also thanks everyone for all the support he has received.
A mother, her four children, and a family acquaintance were killed inside a two-storey townhouse on Berrigan Drive in the Ottawa suburb on March 6. Their father was seriously injured in the attack, but survived.
The victims have been identified as 35-year-old Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake and her four children: seven-year-old Inuka Wickramasinghe, four-year-old Ashwini Wickramasinghe, three-year-old Ranaya Wickramasinghe and two-month-old Kelly Wickramasinghe. A sixth man, 40-year-old Gamini Amarakoon Amarakoon Mudiyanselage, was also found deceased at the home. He had a wife and two children living in Sri Lanka.
The family had moved to Canada in recent months with three of their children -- the two-and-a-half months old infant was born in Canada.
An outpouring of shock and grief from the community was triggered by the incident.
The suspect accused in the mass killing -- Febrio De-Zoysa, 19 -- made a brief appearance in an Ottawa courtroom Thursday afternoon.
He appeared by phone before a date was set for his next court appearance.
His lawyer told CTV News Ottawa he is currently in protective custody.
De-Zoysa is facing six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He is next scheduled to appear in court March 28.
With files from the Canadian Press and CTV News Ottawa's Katie Griffin
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