Fatal shooting sparks call for more police in Centretown neighbourhood
Another week, another shooting at 'short-term rental' in Ottawa
Soon after shots rang out at a Gilmour Street residence on Wednesday morning, Shawn Barber got a "frantic" call from his wife, warning him and their kids to stay in the house.
"I quickly turned on the news and found out that the police were on the scene," said Barber, president of the Centretown Community Assocation.
"I live about a couple of hundred meters away and I have two relatively young kids...The level of anxiety is increasing for me and all the residents in the area."
Police are still looking for the individual or individuals responsible after 18-year-old Manyok Akol was killed and three other male victims, including a 15-year-old boy, were seriously injured in the Wednesday morning shooting at the Gilmour St. house.
- Shooter sought by Ottawa police after 1 killed, 3 injured at downtown home
- Police investigating Ottawa's 1st shootings of the year
Anxiety is up because this isn't the only recent shooting in the area, according to Barber.
In November and December, there were other incidents involving guns in Centretown, he said.
"It's becoming a more regular occurrence than we've seen in the past and people are getting worried," said Barber. "We live in a big city. These things happen, but they seem to be happening with increasing frequency and we need to get on top of that."
House rented out on Airbnb
Airbnb confirmed to CBC that the house had been rented out on their short-term rental site.
The listing for 490 Gilmour St. has now been deactivated and Airbnb says it "removed the booking guest from our platform."
The house is owned by Pierre Begin, who declined to comment after being contacted by CBC.
Ottawa police Deputy Chief Uday Jaswal confirmed that violence at short-term rentals in the city is an increasing concern.
"We've seen a number of shooting incidents around short-term rentals. It is something that we have noticed. It is something we're monitoring," Jaswal said.
Six shootings in 2020
In the first eight days of 2020, six people in Ottawa have been shot, but Jaswal maintains the city is safe.
"Obviously this level of violence and in a few days starting 2020 is certainly not the way we want to start the new year. It's not a level of violence I think that's acceptable to us as a police service," he said.
"We're going to be working with our partners...to ensure that we can address gun violence."
Active investigation
Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly says it's still "early days" in this investigation.
Sloly would not say if the shooting was gang related.
"It's a full investigation, with our major crimes unit looking into the homicide and the other crimes related to it," Sloly said.
Police say the victims and the shooter or shooters appear to be familiar to each other.
Sloly said the Centretown area where the shooting occurred can expect an increased police presence in the days to come.
Barber wants that increased police presence in his neighbourhood to continue.
"I think we need to have a few more officers on the street," said Barber. "I'm comforted by the fact that we have a new head of our police who's experienced in dealing with gun violence and the problems that surround it."
The councillor for the ward, Catherine McKenney, said the fact that the shooting took place at an Airbnb shows that the city made the right decision to pass new regulations for short-term rentals.
McKenney added there are no easy solutions to the issue of gun violence.
"It's a complex problem, the answers to it are complex, and how we got here are complex," McKenney told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning host Robyn Bresnahan. "We have to ask ourselves: 'Is it more police, or is it police doing different things?'"
McKenney said they plan to visit the neighbourhood on Thursday along with a community police officer and representatives from the Centretown Community Health Centre to speak to residents about safety concerns.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
