Two men arrested following May 30 shooting on Woodroffe Avenue

Ottawa police tape at the intersection of Woodroffe Avenue and Baseline Road after a shooting. May 30, 2021. (Aaron Reid/CTV News Ottawa)

OTTAWA -

Ottawa police say two men have been arrested following a shooting in Nepean that capped off a deadly week of gun violence in the capital.

This shooting, on May 30 at the corner of Woodroffe Avenue and Iris Street, was a drive-by, with people from one car shooting at the people in another car. One person was seriously injured, but remains in stable condition, police said.

On Monday, police arrested two men they believe were involved in the shooting and also seized a vehicle.

Hassen Abdi, 30, and Ugaryahan Abdi Hussein, 19, are facing the following charges:

• Aggravated Assault
• Possession of a firearm obtained by crime
• Unlicensed person in possession of a prohibited weapon
• Possession of a weapon dangerous to public peace
• Pointing a firearm
• Occupying a motor vehicle with firearm
• Discharging a firearm with intent to wound or endanger life
• Handling a firearm carelessly
• Possession of a prohibited firearm without holding a licence
• Possession of a loaded regulated firearm

 Abdi was further charged with two counts of possession of a firearm while prohibited.

Both men were scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Ottawa police said in a later news release that the second suspect, Ugaryahan Abdi Hussein, is now facing additional charges of personation to avoid arrest and obstructing a peace officer. Police allege Hussein was fradulently using the name of a man whom police previously identified as the second suspect, to avoid arrest and prosecution.

"The Ottawa Police Service wishes to clarify that the 21 year old man who was named in the morning release is not the subject of this arrest and charges. We apologize for this unfortunate circumstance," the police service said in a statement.

The 21-year-old man's name, which was previously included in this article and originally included in the police's apology, has been removed.

The shooting at Woodroffe and Iris came the same day a 27-year-old man, Warsama Youssouf, was shot and killed in the Pineview neighbourhood, the fourth homicide in the five days prior. Two brothers, Abulaziz and Mohamad Abdullah, were killed at strip mall along Alta Vista Drive on the Friday before and another man, 22-year-old Abdulqadir Yusuf, was shot and killed in Gloucester two days before that.

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly said on May 31 there was no firm link between all of the shootings.

“The crimes that happened over the weekend, at this point, there is no known connection between them. There is a commonality between them to drugs but we cannot draw a nexus at this point to gangs,” Sloly said.

Three men are currently wanted in connection with the shooting along Alta Vista Drive on May 28. Police also said they were looking to identify two men, described as "persons of interest", in connection with the homicide on May 30 in the Pineview neighbourhood.