Ottawa Police have identified the suspect in Ottawa's 11th homicide of 2016.
28-year-old Mustafa Ahmed of Ottawa is wanted in connection to the homicide. Ahmed is described as 5'11", about 140 lbs with a slender build with long, black, wavy hair and brown eyes. He's considered armed and dangerous.
A man was shot dead inside Sentral nightclub on Dalhousie Street early Sunday morning.
Police have identified the victim as 33-year-old Omar Rashid-Ghader, also known as ‘Esco’ or ‘Escobar’.
Duty Insp. Sean McDade said an officer patrolling the market was alerted to the incident around 3:20a.m. when someone ran out of the club saying there had been a shooting inside.
“They entered the scene to make sure the shooter wasn’t still present and we weren’t looking at an active shooter situation, once that was confirmed, they located a victim that suffered injuries,” he said.
Paramedics treated the man for multiple gunshot wounds but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Friends who said they were out with the victim on Saturday night told CTV he was a father and a husband. Rashid-Ghader's online presence also suggests he was an aspiring rapper.
Randy Granados was walking home early Sunday morning when he saw several police cruisers parked outside the nightclub.
“Always fighting outside, always cops outside, always people making things – things,” Granados said about the club.
Another man named Gerald said he had been to Sentral nightclub on several occasions and that he has never felt scared there.
“You know there were DJ’s there, the vibe was pleasant, that’s why I’m kind of shocked this happened here,” said Gerald, who did not want to provide his last name.
The Ottawa Police Major Crimes Unit has taken over the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 613-236-1222 ext. 5493.
