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Berry, the 43-year-old father, is in hospital with self-inflicted wounds.

The father and the girls’ mother, Sarah Cotton, a Victoria public-relations specialist, had been estranged since 2013.

Sandra Hudson, a close friend of Cotton’s, said Cotton is doing “as well as anyone could be expected” given the tragedy.

Hudson has known Chloe and Aubrey since they were born. “They were fun, they were smart, they were full of life, just like Sarah,” Hudson said.

The children would often visit a beach near their home with their mother and the family loved visiting a nearby Gulf Island,” said Trisha Lees, another family friend.

She said Sarah was devoted to the girls. “Seeing the three of them together was an absolute delight. Sarah was just one of those mothers who was born to be a mother and did an exceptionally great job with them in every possible way.”

Frank Cotton, the girls’ great-uncle, said his daughter had been teaching Chloe to ride horses. “(Chloe) was doing very well. She was catching on to riding properly. And it’s all over,” he said.

Hall said he first heard of the deaths of the two girls on Tuesday afternoon. Afterwards, he contacted the school’s crisis team and notified staff and parents via email and steered them to assistance.

Hall said he contacted the Greater Victoria School District to ask for assistance in helping Christ Church Cathedral School deal with the tragedy. “We are very appreciative of the help we have been offered,” said Hall. “We are a small school of limited resources.”