Homicide investigation launched after 4 found dead inside Prince Rupert home

Residents of Prince Rupert are in mourning after a heart breaking discovery in the community on Tuesday night.

Mounties say the bodies of four people were found inside a home in the 100 block of Silversides Drive at 9 p.m. after officers received a report that the deceased were there.

A homicide investigation is now underway and in its early stages, police said.

“At this time, police do not believe there are any outstanding suspects, and also believe there is no further risk to the public,” Const. Brody Hemrich of Prince Rupert RCMP said in a news release.

Investigators have not released the names of the victims.

The RCMP are staying very tight lipped about the circumstances so far.

Multiple sources have confirmed to CTV News that two children under the age of five are among the victims.

“The community is a tremendously resilient community. It's very tight knit and there will be a rallying around the family on a grand scale here,” said Nick Adey, a city councillor and acting mayor of Prince Rupert.

“That, I think, is really important. It helps us weather these things together,” Adey told CTV News.

The deaths come less than a year after a murder-suicide at a mall in the small community.

“Those two incidents are not related. They're shocking, however, there's no threat to the public. As of right now, there's no outstanding suspects. What we have is an isolated incident,” Hemrich told CTV News.

RCMP are urging anyone struggling with the news to call their victim services line at 250-627-7779.

“Gathering from the experience, the previous experience, I know that it just kind of floors everybody in the community,” said Adey.

“I think we've become used to, in the 21st century, to seeing these events happen in other cities or in other countries. You can allow yourself a certain distance from those events, but when it happens in your own community, it's pretty hard and it reminds us that we're part of a reality that many many communities will face,” he added.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Prince Rupert RCMP at 250-624-2136 or make an anonymous report to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Mary Cranston and Angela Jung