MONTREAL -- Montreal police is investigating after the bodies of two children and their father were found on Tuesday in a home in Tetreaultville in Montreal's east end.

Officers said they received a 911 call at 9 p.m. Tuesday from the children's mother, who found the bodies inside a house on Curatteau St., near Pierre-de-Coubertin Ave.

Police found "signs of violence" on the children, a boy aged 7 and a girl aged 5. The body of their father, Jonathan Pomares, 40, was also found in the house. He died by suicide, according to a police source.

"The deaths of the three people were confirmed on the scene," the police source told CTV News. "The main hypothesis by investigators is a murder-suicide."

The couple was apparently in the middle of a separation.

"It was very new," the source added. "Maybe a few weeks or a few days."

Investigators say they had to track down family abroad to advise them of the deaths.

The scene was particularly violent, according to police, and officers who responded to the case were offered assistance.

"We are police officers, but we are also mothers, fathers of children, and the first thing the commander of the station did was take them off the case and gave them the attention and help they needed," Montreal police spokesperson Manuel Couture said.

A spokesperson for the Commission Scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) said psychological help had been provided for children at the school attended by the two young victims.

A carved pumpkin sat on the porch of the red brick home, and the front steps were filling up Wednesday morning with stuffed animals and flowers left by passersby.

"Bon voyage, little angels," read one note left at the scene.

One woman, who said she lived nearby, said the gestures of sympathy were meant to remind the children's mother that she wasn't alone.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, here are some resources that are available:

Suicide Action Montreal (1-866-277-3553)

Crisis Services Canada (1-833-456-4566 or text 45645)

Centre for Suicide Prevention (1-833-456-4566)

Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868)

If you need immediate assistance call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.

Canadian Press contributed reporting to this story.