Policeman’s son held after five stabbed to death

Matthew de Grood has been charged with five counts of murder

Matthew de Grood, a recent graduate of the University of Calgary, picked up a knife after arriving at the party and stabbed the victims one by one shortly after 1am on Tuesday, according to police.

Police chief Rick Hanson said the 22-year-old was yesterday charged with five counts of murder.

Four men – Zackariah Rathwell, Joshua Hunter, Jordan Segura and Lawrence Hong – and a woman – Kaitlin Perras – were all killed. They were all aged from 22 to 27, according to local reports.

Mr Hanson said: “This is the worst murder – mass murder – in Calgary’s history. We have never seen five people killed by an individual at one scene. The scene was horrific.”

The attack came nearly a week after a teenage boy stabbed and wounded 21 students at his high school in Pennsylvania in the US. Mr Hanson said the motive for the Calgary attack was, as yet, unknown.

He said the suspect’s father, a policeman, and mother were “devastated”.

He added: “They are now feeling so much sorrow. Those young people are dead and they are absolutely devastated.”

None of the five victims or the suspect had any prior involvement with police.

The University of Calgary said De Grood graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree majoring in psychology and a minor in law and society.

Mr Hanson said about 20 people were at the party celebrating the last days of classes before the Easter break, at a home in the residential neighbourhood of Brentwood, near the campus.

He said the suspect was invited to the party and arrived after working a shift at a grocery store and was welcomed inside.

Mr Hanson said the suspect “targeted the victims one by one, stabbing them several times”.

The police chief added that the suspect had allegedly brought a weapon, or “instrument,” from work to the party, but had also got hold of large knife from inside the house.

Three men were found dead at the house after someone at the party called the emergency services. Another man and a woman were taken to hospital, and both later died.

Police said De Grood was arrested, with the help of the officers with tracker dogs, about 40 minutes after the stabbings and was taken to a hospital for treatment for dog bites.

Mr Hanson said there was nothing to indicate the suspect was drunk or had taken drugs.

The house where the stabbings occurred is on a quiet, tree-lined residential street.

Yesterday, neighbour Doug Jones said about a dozen students had been drinking beer in the backyard earlier in the night, but said they were not causing a noise or any sort of disturbance.

Other residents in the area said the house party was held after the student union’s annual Bermuda Shorts Day, which was held on Monday.

The event is an annual outdoor party on campus featuring live music and beer gardens to celebrate the end of classes.

On Tuesday, about 500 students and faculty members attended a late afternoon vigil at the University of Calgary.