A massive network outage, daylight shootings, and Bluesfest's return: Top 5 stories in Ottawa this week

A massive network outage grinds services to a halt, daylight shootings rock Ottawa, and remembering a crash victim as a hero.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca takes a look at the top 5 stories on our website this week.

Rogers Outage knocks services offline

Many services in the city of Ottawa were affected by a massive network outage at Rogers.

People were having difficulty sending texts, making phone calls, and using the internet. Services that rely on the internet, such as Interac payments, were also down, meaning businesses often could only take cash.

City of Ottawa services were impacted by the outage, including the Para Transpo booking line.

On Saturday, Rogers said service was restored to the “vast majority” of its customers. The city said its services were back online Saturday afternoon.

Customers outside the closed Rogers store in the Rideau Centre on Friday, July 8, 2022. (CTV News)

Shots fired at funeral for man gunned down in Ottawa

As mourners gathered for the funeral for a man who was shot to death earlier in the week, shots rang out again.

Abdulhamid Haji Ragab, 24, was shot to death on Banff Avenue in the city's south end on Tuesday.

On Friday, one person was shot at a cemetery on Manotick Station Road. Their injuries were not life-threating. Ragab’s funeral was underway at the time.

Chawn Lemieux, 23, is facing a second-degree murder charge in Ragab’s death.

Police have not identified a suspect in the cemetery shooting.

It was the third shooting in Ottawa in a week. A man was critically injured after being shot on Ritchie Street Wednesday. Police say the Ritchie Street shooting is not connected to the homicide on Banff Avenue.

Ottawa police investigate a shooting at Banff Avenue near Ledbury Avenue in the south end where one man was seriously hurt on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. (Chris Black/CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa in a new wave of COVID-19

COVID-19 is surging again in the capital.

Ottawa Public Health said there has been a resurgence of the virus in recent days, telling residents to take precautions, including wearing masks indoors or when physical distancing isn’t possible.

Between June 28 and July 5, six COVID-19 deaths were reported, the number of patients with COVID-19 reported by each of the city’s hospitals doubled, and the wastewater signal is on the rise.

Health officials in Ontario and Quebec are warning of a new wave, but both provinces are expecting a peak soon.

So far, there is no word that any public health protections will be mandated again. Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says news about expanding booster shot eligibility could come next week.

An ambulance approaches the Ottawa Hospital in this undated file image. (CTV News Ottawa)

“He was a hero”: Family says Ottawa man killed in fatal collision sacrificed himself

The family of an Ottawa man killed in a Canada Day crash in the west end says Tom Bergeron died exactly as he lived: selflessly thinking of others before himself.

Bergeron wasn’t able to avoid the Friday morning crash, but did all he could to ensure everyone else survived, according to the family.

"My dad swerved his arm just enough that that car would take the impact right on him directly, so that my daughter would still be here today," Aime Bergeron, his daughter said.

Bergeron was travelling with his wife of 47 years, his daughter, and his eight-year-old granddaughter Ryleigh.

The family was heading out to get sparklers on Canada Day, when their minivan collided with a pickup truck hauling a trailer, allegedly filled with cement bricks, at the intersection of Baseline Road and Merivale Road.

"He was a hero. He turned that car in just a split second to save my daughter, to save his wife, and to save me, his three girls. He saved us," Aime Bergeron said.

Family members say Tom Bergeron died in a two-vehicle crash at Baseline Road and Merivale Road on Canada Day. (Submitted)

Bluesfest is back

After being cancelled for two summers in a row because of COVID-19, Bluesfest returned to LeBreton Flats Thursday.

Rage Against the Machine, Alanis Morissette, Jack Johnson, Sarah McLachlan, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Marshmello, Alexisonfire and The National are among the headliners for the festival’s return to in-person shows.

Organizers are branding this edition of Bluesfest a ‘historic comeback.’ An abbreviated Bluesfest was held last fall at Lansdowne Park, but this is the festival’s first time at its usual LeBreton Flats home since the summer before the pandemic began.

Photo courtesy: IG @avolossov