He did not think it could be a bad thing, but about 15 minutes later he went out to investigate and watched police shoot and kill a 21-year-old man who had just stabbed two women and was about to stab a third. “As I was leaving, I saw about four policemen with their guns pulling this man in a hat. It was dark, I could not figure out who he was. And then … they started firing and shouting at him,” Babit recalls. As the perpetrator lay on the ground, police officers continued to scream at him to drop his knife, Babbitt said. The suspect was talking but Babit could not understand what he was saying. After about a minute, the perpetrator’s speech became muted and moved less and less. Then he stopped moving and making sounds completely, Babbitt said. The Ontario SIU is investigating a police shooting by Ottawa police that left a 21-year-old man dead and a 19-year-old woman injured. Police were called to Anoka Street around 10:30 p.m. Monday after a knife left two others dead. (Stu Mills / CBC) “It is very, very shocking. Nothing like this has ever happened in my life …”, he said. “We are very shocked and very concerned to see corpses 50 meters away from your street where they work.” Ontario police, the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), said that when the perpetrator disobeyed orders to drop the knife, three police officers shot. They killed the suspect, but also hit the woman who was stabbing, the SIU said in a press release. This 19-year-old woman is recovering in the hospital. The SIU said it had suffered “a non-life-threatening gunshot wound”, while Ottawa police said they also had “multiple serious stab wounds”. Here is more than we know so far:
The victims
Police have not publicly identified the victims. Neighbors say the house on Anoka Street belongs to a woman with two daughters. They described the area as quiet and expressed shock at what had happened. Sally Babbitt, Scott Babbitt’s mother, said the most troubling aspect was not how close she was to her home. “It’s that something so terrible has happened to this very nice family,” he explained. “It’s just horrible and we feel awful about them. Everyone knows the girls because they are so friendly.” Nuh Ibrahim said he had lived on Anoka Street for about 12 years and had seen his mother and daughters doing things like walking the dog and mowing the lawn. “Absolute shock,” he said when asked about street violence. “I could not understand that such a thing would happen in this neighborhood.” Despite living on the street for years, Ibrahim said what happened Monday night left him feeling “uncomfortable” and wondering about safety.
Timetable
The 911 call came from a house in Anoka around 22:30 “Screams were heard” and the answering machine reported that someone had been stabbed, SIU spokeswoman Monica Hunton said on Tuesday. Police said police continued and found a man stabbing a woman on the street. When he did not hear the demands to drop the knife, three police officers opened fire, Hudton said. The SIU is investigating the shootings in Ottawa with the involvement of the police. man shot dead and woman wounded by gunfire. Monica Hudon, Representative: pic.twitter.com/A7PjkxJRfz – @ SIUOntario
What the neighbors saw
The area was flooded with police patrols and lights flashing in the aftermath of the shootings, according to those living along the road. “I heard four bangs and it sounded like a gunshot,” recalls Sally’s husband, David Babbitt. Noella Buenti told CBC News that she also heard gunshots and saw the suspect’s body on the street. “It was unbelievable,” he said. “I do not know how many police cars were here, there were more than 10, 12 police cars, an ambulance, everything.” Buenti also said she spoke to the friend of one of the stabbing victims. “[The boyfriend] he was very upset and did not speak. He just said that there is someone with a knife. And the police asked [the suspect] to put down the knife and would not do it. “And then they shot him,” he said.
SIU research
The SIU has commissioned two investigators and two medical examiners for the case. The investigators were still in the process of confirming the identities of the man and woman who were shot on Tuesday. The unit said it had designated three “subjects” – the police officers who fired their weapons and were being investigated – and six other officers as witnesses. Brian Samuel, interim president of the Ottawa Police Association, described Monday night’s events as “a call for service with tragic consequences.” It will have a lasting impact on both members and the community, he wrote in a statement. “These are difficult calls that do not happen often, but when they do, our officers respond professionally and do what they are trained to do,” Samuel added. An autopsy on the man killed by police was scheduled for Wednesday.
