`IT HAS TO STOP'
Grieving parent urges authorities to take meaningful action after fatal shootings
Jooris Ndongozi knows the pain of losing a loved one to gun violence. His son, Tyson, was killed a month ago, near where 18-year-old Creflo Tansia was shot to death on Tuesday. But through his suffering, his message to the city is clear: It's time to address the violence in Lowertown.
Jooris Ndongozi's eyes glisten as he shakes his head.
“It has to stop,” he says, glancing down at a newspaper article that describes a shooting that bears so many similarities to the one that left his son dead in early July: the same neighbourhood, the same brazen tactics, in both shootings the same man injured — but not killed — and in each case, another young man dead.
The most recent victim, 18-yearold Creflo Tansia, died after being shot Tuesday evening in front of a townhouse in a Lowertown community housing complex. Jooris' son Loris Tyson Ndongozi, a beloved 20-year-old football star, was shot nearby a month earlier.
Tuesday's shooting has left Jooris disoriented, he said on Friday morning in an interview. The void left by the death of his son is a continued source of agony and the recent violence has provided a reminder of his loss.
“I've always learned to accept physical pain,” said Ndongozi, a former heavyweight boxing champion in his native Burundi and a black belt in karate, “but I'm suffering.
“It's unbelievable. It's hard.” But it has also motivated him, and he came prepared with a message to city stakeholders.
“We call on all the authorities to really address the question of violence in Lowertown,” he said, “because, according to the residents, according to the facts, it is not an isolated event, it is a widespread phenomenon in this neighbourhood.”
It is a cry echoed by neighbours who live near where both shootings occurred. They say the number of shootings has risen, and that violence has become increasingly visible in the area.
Ndongozi maintains hope that justice will be served and wants police to continue searching for his son's killer. Investigators have circulated images of the man suspected of killing Tyson and obtained a Canada-wide warrant for 26-year-old Haybe Farhan Aden, wanted for second-degree murder and attempted murder in connection with the case.
“There's a common denominator here in both of these situations,” said Mathieu Fleury, city councillor for Rideau-Vanier, which includes Lowertown. “Justice needs to be done here, but we can predict this, and I can predict almost that there's more coming because we're not getting to the root of where the issue rests.”
Fleury praised the community for uniting against violence in the wake of Tyson's death, but another killing, so close on the heels of the last, also raises questions about some of the systemic problems behind the shootings — problems that require large, holistic solutions.
“How do we get the youth to not join gangs, to not feel like they need to fear for their lives and have weapons?” Fleury asked. “Well, you have the right spaces. You need to have youth spaces, bring youth programming and, whether it be arts or sports, you make those spaces available free of charge, late evenings, on weekdays and throughout the summer and when there are holidays.”
Acting Supt. Carl Cartright with
(The violence) is not an isolated event, it is a widespread phenomenon in this neighbourhood.
the Ottawa police said there will be a greater presence of officers in the neighbourhood where Tuesday's shooting occurred. It's part of a push to reassure residents, but behind the scenes, he said, there is also work being done to build bridges and work with the community to find solutions.
“When we speak to the community, which I just did, a lot of conversations were about having those conversations with young people,” Cartright said. “People are concerned that young people are getting involved in certain activities that may make them more at risk. We need to hear about that. What supports are we lacking in those communities?”
Cartright recognized the role of a new style of policing, one that engages with the community and works to prevent crimes from occurring. “I only deal with major criminal activity. It's already too late,” he said. “There's a preventative component that needs to be set in place.”
Lowertown is not the only neighbourhood affected by a recent rise in violent crime, Cartright said. Ottawa is having a violent summer. It is a time when crime usually spikes, but violence, and shootings, are on the rise. In all of 2020, there were only eight homicides; in 2019, there were 14. Tansia's slaying is the 14th homicide this year — and there are still four months to go until the end of 2021.
It's indicative of a problem police cannot solve on their own, Cartright said.
“Something is happening here. In the large scale of social issues, it needs to be a priority. It goes beyond firearm legislation. It goes beyond economics. It goes beyond a number of legislative changes or activities that we do,” he said.
“As many experts speak about causation when it comes to violence, we have yet in this society to have gotten a handle on it.”
Ndongozi, meanwhile, feels a sense of duty to keep young men from falling into a cycle of violence; he saw such impacts in Burundi, which was the reason he left the country.
“I told them (young people), I understand you want revenge, but violence is not the solution,” he said. “We left violence behind in our country. Do not take revenge. Instead of taking revenge, be thankful and let the police do their work.”
It is the plea of a man who has seen too much violence and now looks at a list of Ottawa homicides this year and shakes his head, hoping no other parent has to see their child's name on that list.
“They can't become just another statistic.”