Two men hurt after shots fired at vehicle

Two men were seriously injured Thursday night when their vehicle was fired upon near Albion Road North and Heatherington Road in a shooting now under investigation by the Ottawa Police Service guns and gangs unit.

Patrol officers were called to shots fired on the vehicle at about 9:08 p.m.

The targeted vehicle hit parked cars as the driver tried to flee the gunfire, police said. The driver then spotted a paramedic unit at the intersection of Bank Street and Alta Vista Drive and intercepted the crew to get medical help.

Paramedics assessed the two men, who had both been shot, and treated and transported them to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. The victims were not fully co-operating with investigators.

Nobody knows … You are in a car, there is an accident, there is a shooting, there is trouble. Sometimes you are not a part of it, but it happens.

Albion Road North was closed between Kitchener Avenue and Walkley Road until about midnight.

A neighbour who lives near the intersection of Albion and Heatherington Roads and did not wish to share her name said she heard the shots in the evening while she was in her basement.

“I thought maybe a kid was playing,” she said. “It was very close. I heard something, it was shooting, three times.”

It was not the first shooting incident in the neighbourhood, she said.

“It has happened here once or twice,” she said, recalling how the police had cordoned off her street and interviewed her about shootings in the past.

“It's life. I'm expecting everything from life,” she said.

“Nobody knows … You are in a car, there is an accident, there is a shooting, there is trouble. Sometimes you are not a part of it, but it happens.”

Another neighbour who lives nearby was not as unruffled.

“It's really shocking to hear about it,” she said. “It's so close to home.”

Investigators want to speak with anyone who may have information about the shooting or who may have been in the area and have dash camera or security video footage.

They're asked to contact the guns and gangs unit at 613236-1222, ext. 5050.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppers.ca.