Late Saturday two individuals were killed and six wounded in a shooting at a reception venue parking lot in Ottawa, Authorities informed. The venue had two weddings taking place when gunfire erupted, sending panicked guests running for safety.
A guest at one of the weddings informed that it was chaos, the people were running in no general direction. He said that it was quick shots, followed by screaming, and 15-16 more shots in rapid concisions.
The shooting started at 10.21pm Saturday, in the parking facility of a south-end convention hall where simultaneously two separate weddings were being held. The police had advised guests to stay in their vehicles and not allowed to leave the scene.
It was confirmed by Ottawa police that the two shot were men aged 26 and 29, from Canada’s largest city, Toronto.
Police informed that there were 2 Americans among the 6 injured, but were out of danger. Their identities were not notified.
Police inspector Martin Groulx told AFP with regard to the investigation and that they are in the process of connecting the bits of the puzzle. He informed the police had no indication for now that the incident was a hate crime “related to race or religious beliefs.” He specified, since the motive is not yet determined, the option is not ruled out yet. No arrests have been made with regard to the incident.
The recent two deaths from the shooting record a total of 12 homicides in 2023 in Canada’s capital Ottawa, which has a population of roughly 1 million.
According to the Canadian government, a number of Canadian cities have indicated a visible upsurge in armed violence in recent years with progressively recurrent shooting. The country had recorded an 81% increase in violent gun crimes since 2009.
Police have informed anyone with information or video footage of the incident to notify the authority.
