A man has been arrested and two women found dead after three children were found dead in Manitoba, police said

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Manitoba police say a man is in custody after the suspicious deaths of three children and two women from a rural community southwest of Winnipeg.

At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Manitoba RCMP Major Crime Services said the series of incidents happened at three locations, including the arrest of three dead children shortly after they were pulled from a burning car.

RCMP Inspector Tim Arsenault released few details at a hastily called press conference, but police believe the five dead and the suspect were known to each other.

“As a parent, I cannot imagine how painful your loss is,” he said, offering condolences to the families and friends of the victims. “Please know that the RCMP and everyone in Manitoba is with you. The community of Karman and surrounding areas will also be saddened as they lost their youngest residents in such a tragic way.

Police released a timeline of events Sunday afternoon.

At approximately 7:30 that morning, Carman received a report of a hit-and-run on Highway 3, 6.5 kilometers south of the city, from RCMP Insp. Arsenault said. The body of an adult woman was found in a nearby ditch; The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

At approximately 10 a.m., Headingley RCMP received a report of a vehicle on fire on Highway 248 north of Provincial Highway 424 in the Rural Municipality of Cartier. While officers were en route, a witness pulled three small children from the burning vehicle, all of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, Insp. Arsenault said. A 29-year-old suspect was arrested here.

The investigation continued and led police to a residence in Carman where the body of the second woman was found, Insp. Arsenault said.

Police said there is no threat to public safety.

RCMP Major Crime Services, Carman RCMP, Headingley/Stonewall RCMP, RCMP Forensic and Identification Services and the RCMP Collision Reconstruction Unit are continuing to investigate. No charges were filed Sunday.

Messages of condolence began pouring in Sunday afternoon. Carman Mayor Brent Owen described Sunday's events as “unimaginable.”

“It's terrible that five people lost their lives in our community,” he said in an interview.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham expressed his condolences to those affected by the tragedy in a post on social media platform X.

“Having grown up in Karmana and still have many connections in the area, I am shocked and saddened by today's news,” he wrote.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew sent “comfort and strength to the families and community of Carman.”

“Our deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy,” he wrote in a post to X.