Flowers rest near the home where the bodies of sisters Chloe Berry, 6, and Aubrey Berry, 4, were found by police on Boxing Day in the community of Oak Bay in Victoria, B.C.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press
The moonlight cast a shimmering glow on the ocean as hundreds of people holding candles stood silently Saturday night to honour two young B.C. sisters found dead on Christmas Day.
Children holding candles stood close to their parents as a piano played at Willows Beach.
The District of Oak Bay organized the candlelight vigil, saying the deaths have shaken the Victoria-area community and the event will be an opportunity for people to come to gather in grief and love.
Police have said they were called to a residence in Oak Bay on Monday evening where the bodies of two children were discovered.
A friend and a family member have identified the girls as Aubrey Berry, 4, and her sister Chloe Berry, 6.
Police have said an injured man, whose condition has not been disclosed, was found inside the home and taken to hospital.
"To all of us this means the community is holding us in their embrace," said family friend Sandra Hudson, who said she knows the family well and they regularly took vacations together. "We're all devastated."
Family friend Trisha Lees said the ceremony at Willows Beach where the girls often played is the start of what will be a difficult grieving process.
"The girls were the type of people who need to be honoured," Lees said.