2 found dead in burning Gatineau highrise unit

08-May-2026

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Two people were pronounced dead at the scene of a fire in a downtown Gatineau, Que., highrise in the early hours of May 6 in what police are calling a suspected murder-suicide.

Firefighters told Radio-Canada they were called to the 16-storey building near the north end of rue Laurier around 2 a.m. About 40 firefighters were eventually needed for their response.

Gatineau police said the first call to the building was for a welfare check. Officers found what police described as a small fire in a unit along with two unconscious people.

The pair were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

In an update in the afternoon on the day, Gatineau police said a 34-year-old man allegedly murdered his partner, a 30-year-old woman, before taking his own life in their apartment.

The deaths were "consistent with a murder-suicide," police said in a French-language statement.