The Ottawa Police Service says an officer shot a man on Rideau Street in downtown Ottawa Tuesday afternoon, following a reported weapons call several blocks away.
According to police, officers received reports of a person with a firearm in the Sparks Street area at around 1:30 p.m.
Officers later found the individual near the Rideau Centre mall, about a kilometre away from Sparks Street.
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“During the altercation, a member of the Ottawa Police Service discharged their firearm, hitting the individual,” police said in a news release. “They were transported to the hospital in critical condition. They are now in stable condition.”
Ottawa paramedics told CTV News Ottawa they responded to the Rideau Street scene at around 2:05 p.m. for a man with gunshot wounds.
Two witnesses told CTV News Ottawa’s Katelyn Wilson they heard yelling near the mall followed by several gunshots.
“We heard four shots before we started walking, and then we were walking towards it and there were more shots. Eight to 10 shots total,” said Stuart Bernard.
“The guy was laying on the ground with his arms up. They were saying, ‘freeze, drop it, drop it.’ But the guy had nothing. You could see the guy had nothing in his hands. They’re saying, ‘drop it.’ He has his arms up and everything. The cops shoot him another three times, you know. Guy has no weapon. Nothing. Just this guy that lives down here,” said David Patrick.
Ottawa police say Ontario’s police watchdog agency, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), has been contacted.
The SIU confirmed Tuesday evening it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The SIU says police were called to the area of the Rideau Centre at approximately 1:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a man with a firearm.
“In the area of Rideau Street with William Street, officers encountered the man,” the SIU said in a media release.
“There was an interaction, and two officers discharged their firearms. The man was struck.”
The 24-year-old man was listed in stable condition in hospital Tuesday evening.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.
None of the officers who responded to the scene were injured, police said.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Rideau Centre was locked down, as a precaution, according to police.
CTV News Ottawa’s Austin Lee was in the mall when a lockdown announcement was made. He said the all clear was given just before 2:30 p.m.
“We heard the announcement right around 2 o’clock: ‘weapons-related threat’. The doors were locked, and we had to stay inside for about roughly 20, 25 minutes,” Lee told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron. “The latest update is they’ve come back onto the PA, and they’ve given us the all clear.”
Rideau Street was blocked by police tape, with several officers on scene outside the downtown mall.
The mall has since reopened.
