Ottawa police homicide detectives are investigating the city's 10th homicide of 2017 after a shooting on Iris Street Monday night.

Officers and paramedics were called to a strip mall on the 2700 block of Iris Street, not far from Greenbank Road, at 9:35 p.m. after reports of shots fired.

"It sounded like firecrackers. Everybody was kind of confused," said a man eating at the Big Rig restaurant whom CBC News has agreed not to name because he's concerned about his safety.

"A few seconds after that, I saw a man running toward us screaming 'Help me, help me' and holding his shoulder. When we saw that, we realized this wasn't a prank or anything. So we went inside the restaurant and hid behind the food counter."

A woman living behind the mall said she heard three bangs around 9:30 p.m., followed by people yelling.

"I just went outside to see if I could help.… He just made it [near Big Rig] and he was lying on his back," said Francine Paquin.

The victim, identified by police Tuesday as 36-year-old Esmail Sharifi, suffered "multi-system trauma with injuries consistent with being shot," paramedics said.

Sharifi was taken to the Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus trauma unit. He was listed in critical condition but later died, police confirmed Tuesday.

Tuesday morning police had strung yellow tape around and across the entire plaza parking lot, with evidence markers scattered across it.

People who work at several businesses in the strip mall were kept out of their buildings all morning, and were told they would likely be allowed back in around noon Tuesday.

At about the same time, people whose vehicles had been kept in the parking lot overnight were allowed to get them back.

The mall's property manager told CBC News there are no security cameras on the front of the building, just one inside a business that shows part of the parking lot outside. Footage from three cameras in the back of the building was turned over to police.

No arrests have been made.