Ottawa police say the brazen daylight murder of a teenaged boy who was left for dead in Ottawa's Chinatown is not gang-related.
Three adult males are in custody in connection with the shooting death of 16-year-old Yazdan Ghiasvand Ghiasi, who was dumped on a sidewalk on Booth Street bleeding profusely Monday morning. The teenager was pronounced dead in hospital.
An autopsy confirmed the teen died from a gunshot wound. Police say charges are pending.
While police say the killing is not gang-related, they have not released any information about a motive. The killing marks the city's 10th homicide of the year.
Ghiasi's family says the young teen was never in trouble. Instead, his short life was full of many accomplishments. He had a black belt in Tae Kwando. He was also a wrestling coach and an avid cross-country runner.
"We don't know what happened, we don't know. We just know someone shot him," family friend Ata Fathi told CTV Ottawa on Tuesday.
Ghiasi was a Grade 11 student at Notre Dame High School where he was well-known and well-liked. At lunch, he would often head to Aladdin Convenience Store with some friends.
"I know him very well, I think everybody's going to miss him around here," convenience store owner Mohamad Farhat told CTV Ottawa on Tuesday.
An impromptu shrine now marks the site where Ghiasi lost his life on Monday. Flowers and offerings of food partially cover the bloody evidence left behind on Booth Street.
In Ghiasi's family's home, his desk has become a shrine. His family, who left Iran 18 years ago to give their son a better life in Canada, could never have imagined his life being cut short by murder on the streets of Ottawa. Ghiasi leaves behind both of his parents and a younger sister.
"They came here for a better life, worked so hard and he was doing good and this is unbelievable," said Fathi.
Ottawa's Iranian community has come together to help the family deal with their grief. A funeral for the young teen is planned at the Ottawa Mosque on Thursday.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr