(Photo: Sylvain Degrasse, 44, with his daughter Alexandra Degrasse, in 2005)
By Kent Driscoll
APTN National News
IQALUIT– A two-year-old girl and her seven-year-old sister were among the four bodies discovered by the RCMP in Iqaluit Tuesday.
RCMP confirmed the girls’ parents were also found dead.
RCMP said they found the father, Sylvain Degrasse, 44, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot blast to the face in a cemetery.
They later found his common-law partner Vivian Sula Enuaraq, 29, and their two children Alexandra Degrasse, 7, and Aliyah Degrasse, 2, in the family’s home.
RCMP said they are treating the deaths as a homicide investigation, but are not searching for suspects.
“The circumstances surrounding the discovery of four bodies…remains under investigation,” said RMCP in a statement.
Iqaluit residents are reeling after RCMP discovered four bodies Tuesday, triggering the cancellation of classes at the local elementary school, according to the city’s mayor.
Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern said residents were “shaken” by the discovery of the bodies.
“This has really shaken our community,” said Redfern, in a statement. “We need to come together and help each other pull through this.
People living near the cemetery reported an unoccupied truck at in the early afternoon which was eventually shut off by a local resident at about 3 p.m.
Redfern said the news of the deaths left residents in “shock” and disbelief.
Redfern said she would be seeking to get crisis intervention to deal with the trauma that has impacted many people.
“Many people, including family and friends of the victims, emergency responders and community members need immediate counselling,” said Redfern. “At the same time this territory must work together to end the root causes of our problems.”
