Surrey multiple-homicide victims may have been 'targeted,' officer says
"At first glance, this does not look like a random attack," Cpl. Dale Carr of the Integrated Homicide Investigation team said Saturday morning. "The people may have been targeted, or they knew who their attackers were," he told reporters.
But he alsosaid that it is still too early in the investigation for police to release many details about what they are calling a multiple homicide in a single apartment.
Police discovered the six bodies Friday afternoon when they werecalled to the 15th floor ofa high-rise condominium in the 9800 block of East Whalley Ring Road.
He said the six deceased were all males, but he could not release the names or ages of the victims.
Carr said police were still analyzing the complex crime scene in the small apartment unit and it was too early to say how the victims had died.
He said the bodies were found in "various locations" andthere was a lot of blood at the scene. It was unclearhow long they had been in the apartment, although he said it wasn't "a great length of time."
Police had not ruled out the possibility that it was a murder-suicide,a domestic dispute,a targeted hit, or a gang-related incident, said Carr.
Despite an initial report of a gas leak, Carr said officers did not smell any odours in the building when they arrived that indicated anything untoward had taken place.
There are no suspects yet in the investigation, said Carr.
Residents of the building told CBC News that police spent the night knocking on doors, asking them if they had seen any suspicious activity, and advising them to keep their doors locked.
The entire 15th floor was evacuated and placed under police control, said Carr, and it may be a day or more before the police wrap up the crime scene investigation.
After police conclude their investigation, the coroner will conduct a second investigation and then the bodies will be removed, said Carr.
Gas leak call led to investigation
RCMP were called by the Surrey Fire Department to what was originally thought to be the scene of a gas leak at the building Friday afternoon.
Emergency personnel, including ambulances, fire crews andthe hazardous materials team, along with police, arrived at the scene around 4:30 p.m. PT.
Police closed major roads in the area, including the King George Highway and the Fraser Highway, to traffic for several hours in the evening. The King George Skytrain Station was also closed for a period of time and was later reopened.
Hazardous materials team members entered the building and discovered six bodies, Carr said.
Police were not able to say if the call about a gas leak was genuine and related to the deaths, but residents said there was still no hot water in the building on Saturday morning.