Edmonton’s police chief says the mass murder of eight people was planned and deliberate, describing it Tuesday as an “extreme case of domestic violence.”

Chief Rod Knecht has yet to identify the shooter in the killings, who was found dead from an apparent suicide, but said he had a criminal record stretching back to 1987.

Seven of the victims were found in the same house, including two children under the age of 10. Knecht described the scene as “horrific” and said he had “never seen anything like it” in 39 years of policing.

The shooter used a 9mm handgun. The weapon was registered in B.C. in 1997, but had been reported stolen in Surrey in 2006.

Knecht said officers first responded to a suspicious death at 6:52 p.m. MT on Monday in the Edmonton’s south-end, where the body of one middle-aged female was found. She has been identified as 37-year-old Cindy Duong.

Around 8:30 p.m., police were called to a second home to check on the welfare of a male at a residence in the north end of the city. Knecht said the man’s family was concerned he was suicidal, describing him as “depressed” and “overly emotional.”

“Police arrived at the north-end residence, and the male was not located, and there was no response,” Knecht said. “Nothing suspicious was noted at the residence.”

The male has since been identified by police as the shooter.

At 12:23 a.m., police returned to the north-end residence after “further information was received” and discovered seven people dead inside the home, including two children.

At 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, the body of the shooter was found at a restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan, about 40 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.