At least six people found dead in a flat in a Vancouver suburb appear to have been targeted in a deliberate attack, police say.
Cpl Dale Carr, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police murder investigator, told a news conference outside the building in Surrey, British Columbia, that the six victims were all males, but he had no further details about their ages. He said police were still trying to identify the victims.
The bodies were discovered on Friday by firefighters and hazardous materials workers responding to a reported gas leak, Cpl Carr said.
"Upon arrival of fire and ambulance, it was quickly determined that they were not dealing with a gas leak but rather a homicide scene," he said.
Police said they have not ruled out a case of murder-suicide. Police were interviewing residents of the building to determine whether they may have smelled decomposing bodies in the 15th floor apartment and mistakenly thought it was a gas leak, Cpl Carr said.
Cpl Carr described a grisly "very complex" crime scene with bodies found in various rooms of the flat. He said they appeared to have been targeted.
The building which has about 100 apartments was evacuated but residents were allowed to return late on night, except for residents of the 15th floor near the crime scene.
Cpl Carr said it was too early in the investigation to be certain but at this stage it did not appear that the flat was being used for growing marijuana as had been suggested by neighbours.