Canadian police discovered 5 individuals lifeless from gunshots, together with three youngsters and the alleged shooter, at two border metropolis residences in a case described on Tuesday as “intimate partner violence.”

The victims have been found late Monday in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, close to the juncture of three Great Lakes bordering the US state of Michigan, about 700 kilometers (430 miles) north of Toronto, after police obtained experiences of break-ins.

A 41-year-old was discovered “deceased from a gunshot wound” on the first residence. “The shooter had fled the area prior to police arrival,” stated a press release.

Ten minutes later, one other emergency name noticed police head to a different house simply 3.7 kilometers (2.3 miles) away.

There they discovered three deceased youngsters, aged six, seven and 12 years previous, in addition to the alleged shooter who appeared to have died “from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Another sufferer, aged 45, was additionally discovered injured with a gunshot wound and was taken to hospital.

In a press release, Sault police chief Hugh Stevenson stated the incidents have been linked and have been “the result of intimate partner violence.”

“This is an unspeakable tragedy,” Mayor Matthew Shoemaker stated on X, the platform previously often known as Twitter.

According to authorities knowledge, gun crimes in Canada decreased from 2020 to 2021, accounting for “a small proportion of all violent crimes.” But shootings are up from a decade in the past.