UPDATE: On Friday morning, police said a 29-year-old man was charged in connection to the children’s deaths
The Edmonton Police Service’s homicide unit is investigating after two children’s bodies were discovered in an apartment building on Wednesday night.
In a news release issued on Thursday, police said officers responded to an alleged assault on a female near 79 Avenue and 71 Street at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Upon arrival, officers located a female in distress and with serious injuries,” police said.
Three hours later, police were called to a report of a man “acting erratically” and who allegedly broke into a garage at 73 Street and 80 Avenue.
“It was later determined that the male was a suspect in relation to the assault of the female at 79 Avenue and 71 Street,” police said. “The man was arrested and remains in police custody.
View photos from the scene in the gallery below:
“After further investigations, patrol officers returned to an apartment suite at 79 Avenue and 71 Street where two children were found deceased.”
The age of the children was not disclosed but police described them as “young.”
Police said homicide investigators are now looking into the incidents. Autopsies have yet to be scheduled, however, police are calling the children’s deaths suspicious.
Global News has spoken to two people who live in the building.
One neighbour, who asked not to be identified, shares a wall with the apartment where the bodies were found. He said the tenants moved in within the last few months.
The neighbour told Global News he had seen a man and woman in their thirties there, along with a grandmother, a three-year-old girl and a teenage girl. However, he said he wasn’t sure who was living there permanently.
Both neighbours who spoke to Global News said they frequently heard yelling and arguing from the apartment. Both said they heard yelling on Wednesday night. The other neighbour also asked not to be identified.
The man who shares a wall with the apartment where the bodies were found said he heard two screams from a woman or women. He told Global News he did not know children had been found dead. He said he was shocked and felt guilty for not calling 911. He said he didn’t report the screams because the noise was routine to him.
The other neighbour who spoke to Global News is Cristian Tobar.
“The little girl, she’d always say, ‘Hi neighbour,'” Tobar said, adding he never saw any other kids there. “It makes me sick to my stomach.
“I have kids myself. I found that out (two children being found dead) and I just — I’ve got to move out of here.”
A Global News crew at the scene noted police tape surrounding the Allen Manor apartment building on Thursday afternoon. Three police cruisers and a forensics unit vehicle were at the scene. Police blocked off the building’s entire parking lot and alley, however, police said that was only done in order to give investigators room to work.
Officers were allowing residents back inside the building at about 4 p.m.
Police said they expect to provide an update on their investigation Friday morning.
–With files from Global News’ Sarah Kraus