Two victims of drive-by gunfire weren’t the targets, police say
Two men shot in a drive-by incident outside of a Kanata bar early Thursday morning were not the intended targets, Ottawa police say.
One of the victims was a 28-yearold off-duty member of the British military.
Initially, police would only confirm that a 28-year-old man had been shot in the leg and left with serious injuries. He was in stable condition in hospital.
Late Thursday morning, police confirmed a second man, 22, suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident.
The Kanata victims were caught in a volley of gunshots fired outside the Crazy Horse bar in the Kanata Centrum mall around 2:15 a.m.
At least nine bullets were discharged and several casings were discovered at the scene.
A British Army spokesman told the Citizen: “We can confirm that an off-duty soldier was injured during an incident in Ottawa in the early hours of this morning (local time). The soldier has received hospital treatment and is in a stable condition. The Canadian police are investigating and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”
British soldiers are in town for the Canadian Armed Forces Small Arms Concentration shooting event, which involves more than 450 shooters from Canada, the U.K., the Netherlands and the U.S. The matches began Sept. 4 and go until Saturday at the Connaught ranges and training centre in Shirley’s Bay.
Police said the military victim is co-operating with investigators.
The investigation by the guns and gangs unit continues and there were no arrests Thursday.
By 1 p.m., things had seemingly returned to normal in the area, as groups of patrons sat on patios, ordered lunch and filled the parking lots around Crazy Horse and its neighbour, Jack Astor’s.
Repeated attempts to speak with Crazy Horse’s manager, Andrew Lawrie, about the incident were unsuccessful.
The proprietors at neighbouring businesses were shocked to learn about the shooting. However, since it happened around 2 a.m., few shopkeepers were around to witness it. One of the neighbouring store owners hadn’t heard about the shootings, as police had packed up and left the scene well before they arrived to work Thursday.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the guns and gangs unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5050. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or by downloading the Ottawa police app.