A 23-year-old man, believed to be of Bangladeshi origin, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

He was arrested from the home where three women and a man were found dead, Canadian police announced on Monday, according to Reuters.

The arrestee Menhaz Zaman, and all four victims, are of Bangladeshi origin, said their next-door neighbour in a text messaged to The Daily Star last night.

“We do believe that the man we have in custody, who has now been charged, is responsible for these murders,” Andy Pattenden, a media relations officer with the YRP, told reporters on Monday.

Upon arriving at the scene, police found three women and one man dead. Police have declined to identify the deceased, or the cause of death, and are not searching for further tips on the case.

Menhaz appeared in an Ontario court on Monday and police said he is expected to reappear in court via video link on August 2. 

He was taken into custody from the scene of the crime on Sunday, when York Regional Police (YRP) responded to a call shortly before 3:pm EDT to a residence in Markham, Ontario, 30km south of Toronto, reports Reuters.

Some media houses have reported that all four victims are thought to be from one family.

However, officials are yet to confirm the victims’ identities. The coroner’s report is expected within a couple of days, after which police will release the identities, Pattenden told Reuters.

City News in Toronto reported that the victims were family members of Menhaz, but this has not been confirmed by police nor the coroner’s office.

Ammara Riaz, a former tenant of the Zaman family, said she never would have expected the young man to be accused of such a crime, according to news portal The Star.

Riaz, who rented one of the two basement apartments in Zaman’s home for about five to six years until she moved out last year, confirmed that the people living in the house were Moniruz Zaman, his wife Momotaz, their daughter Malesa and son Menhaz, along with their grandmother.

Riaz couldn’t confirm the spellings of the names, but she did confirm that a profile photo on a gaming site was that of Menhaz, she added.