By John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five people, including three children, died on Sunday in three linked incidents in southern Manitoba, according to a Canadian official who said that a 29-year-old male believed to be connected to the victims had been arrested.
Tim Arseneault of the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said at a news conference that "we now know [the incidents] are all linked."
"It is believed that the adult male in custody and all five deceased individuals are known to each other," he added.
The first incident involved officers with the Carman RCMP responding about 7:30 a.m. to a report of a hit-and-run, where they the found a woman's body.
Hours later, Headingley RCMP received a report of a vehicle on fire. A witness pulled three young children from the vehicle but they were declared dead at the scene.
A 29-year-old male was taken into custody at the scene of the second incident, Arseneault said.
Further investigation led officers to a residence in Carman, where the body of another female was located, he added.
(This story has been refiled to fix a typo in paragraph 4)