One person suffers life-threatening injuries in west Ottawa shooting

Ottawa police are on the scene of a shooting that injured one person in the city's west end.

The shooting happened on Ritchie Street, which is just west of Britannia Village and north of Carling Avenue.

Police said the call came in just before 1:10 p.m. Wednesday. One person was injured and taken to hospital, where he remains in critical condition. No arrests have been made and police are searching for witnesses.

The cordoned-off scene in the west end was a shock for Cardian Currie as she arrived home from work.

"I was just surprised when I got off the bus just now and saw the four police cars, blood on the road, shoes, bottles everywhere," she said.

"This is a community of families, so when we see stuff like this it does take us back."

Crystal Fitzgerald lives in the area with her three kids. Two of them were at day camps nearby.

"We were downstairs in the living room watching TV and all of a sudden, we heard a bang," she said. At the time of the shooting, she and her son had just come back from walking the dogs.

Beyond the police tape, children continued to play throughout the complex, but some parents are looking for answers as to why this happened in their neighbourhood.

"It's devastating. It's horrible," Fitzgerald said. "You want to let your kids play outside, but you don't because of stuff like this."

This is the second daytime shooting in two days in Ottawa. One man was seriously hurt in a Tuesday afternoon shooting on Banff Avenue in the city's south end. Police say the two shootings were not related.