Two dead in Orleans shooting Wednesday night

Two Ottawa men were shot and killed in an evening shooting at a plaza in Orléans.

Ottawa police say the shooting in the area of Tompkins Avenue and Tenth Line Road just before 9 p.m. Wednesday was a targeted incident.

"There was just a guy in the middle of the road, so we went to help out," said Mussa Siddiqui, who owns the African BBQ House in the plaza.

"He was shot; shot three times, bleeding."

Siddiqui said he saw a second man with gunshot wounds inside a vehicle in the parking lot.

One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while the second man died from his injuries in hospital, police said early Wednesday morning.

A third man was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and was released from hospital overnight.

The victims have been identified as Krishel Kanin Murphy-Nimblett, 28, and Mohamed Omar Mohamed, 23, both of Ottawa.

A man who was at the plaza Wednesday night said several witnesses, including a nurse, rushed to help one of the victims on the ground.

"She told me prior to that he ran over saying, 'I got shot, call the ambulance, bring me to the hospital'. He collapsed, she immediately went there and put him into recovery position. I went there and help," said the man, who asked not to be identified.

"From there we kept trying to keep him conscious, we kept trying to make sure he was OK. We had a nurse that drove by afterwards that helped us too."

He says the nurse started doing first aid before paramedics arrived.

"After the recovery position, we tried to pull his shirt off to find the gunshot wound. After we found it we removed his shirt completely," he said. "He was losing consciousness from there, the nurse started doing first aid, he got consciousness back, from there the paramedics got on site and took matters into their hands."

The witness says Mohamed was an old friend from high school.

"He was a basketball player. I remember I played GCBA with him and his older brother. They were cool people, really nice," he said. "I remember I was a little overweight back in the day, he was one of them that would stick up for me saying, 'Oh no, he's cool,' shake my hands, keep me around the crowd. He was a really cool guy.

"I'm happy I could've been there to help him. I really am.  It's just a shame I didn't realize it was him."

There is no word on any suspects in the case.

Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Jeff Pilon says investigators believe it was a "targeted" shooting.

"We are very mindful today that this is a very tragic incident, that two families have lost loved ones to gunplay in our city and our thoughts are definitely with the families today," Pilon said Wednesday afternoon.

"There are a lot of investigative steps that need to continue. That will be interviewing anybody that has any type of involvement, seeking out and reviewing any type of surveillance video, there's a lot of forensic work that needs to be accomplished to help assist with the investigation."

The evening shooting rattled residents in the east-end neighbourhood.

"This never happens in Orléans; it's a residential area with families, little kids," Brigitte Lalonde said. "I'm shocked this happened."

"It's crazy. We wouldn't have expected this to happen in this community," said Lina Chaar, manager of High Ties. "It's in Orléans. It's crazy."

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Homicide Unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5493.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Jackie Perez