Jesse Patrick can count his blessings.
He just happened to go for a walk, towing his two young children in a wagon, at the same time someone fired a gun right next door at the home that shares a common wall with his.
Ottawa Police say they received a call at 8:45 Sunday evening that one man had been shot.
"I came back at 8:50 and it was all closed off with police tape," says Patrick. "I couldn't get in. I had to wait around 20 minutes to get into the house."
It happened on Meaghan Private near Hunt Club Road in the southeast part of the city.
Police say the victim is a man in his 20s. He is not a resident of the home.
As of Monday evening his name had not been released, and no suspects had been identified.
Ottawa paramedics say the victim required"aggressive resuscitation" and was taken to hospital in critical condition. He has since been upgraded to stable.
The shooting has come as a shock to residents of this normally quiet, family-friendly neighbourhood. "Usually not much stuff goes on. A lot of kids running around," says Patrick.
It is the latest example of a disturbing trend.
2016 saw a record number of shootings and homicides in Ottawa. In the past month alone, there were at least 5 shooting incidents resulting in 3 fatalities.
This latest incident comes on the heels of a public consultation forum designed specifically to address street violence. It was held June 28th by the Ottawa Police and Crime Prevention Ottawa.
At that time, Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau left no doubt that Ottawa is becoming a more violent place.
"We're seeing young men resort to violence much quicker, and access weapons of opportunity much quicker as well," said Chief Bordeleau. "Last year we saw an increase in shootings, homicides."
It's a trend that is happening across the country. Statistically, Ottawa is still among the safest of Canadian cities.
But, knowing how close he and his kids came to gunfire, it's small comfort for Jesse Patrick in his formerly-quiet neighbourhood.
"It is scary that it could happen here."
