Ottawa football community remembering shooting victim Quentin Dorsainvil as a 'gentle giant'

Ottawa's football community is mourning the loss of Quentin Dorsainvil, known as a rising star in the sport and a smiling, gentle giant.

"Everybody gravitated to him because he was just a good personality to be around. We're going to miss him dearly," said Mike Schmidt, president of the Cumberland Panthers football organization, and Dorsainvil's former coach.

"It breaks me to the core when a player like this leaves us, and it was really tough to swallow."

Dorsainvil was killed in a shooting Sunday evening in Centretown.

Originally identified as an 18-year-old adult, on Tuesday Ottawa Police issued a correction to Dorsainvil's age, saying he was just 17.

"I went from shock to anger to, you know, then kids started reaching out to me on Instagram," said Adam Gilmour, another of Dorsainvil's former coaches, upon hearing the news of the 17-year-old's death.

Before moving to Florida in 2023 to pursue football, Dorsainvil played for the Kanata Knights and Cumberland Panthers organizations.

His former coaches say he was so kind-hearted and sweet-natured that they had to encourage him to be more aggressive on the football field.

"He looks like a football player," says Gilmour, "and then when you get talking to him within the first five minutes, you just know this is a nice kid, and he just wants to play football and have some fun."

"Quinton was loved by all," adds Schmidt.

"He was a big dude. He was, you know, 6-foot-6, 290 pounds. You know, commanded respect just from his size."

And off the field, Dorsainvil was known as the life of the party.

"His spirit and his energy and his sense of humor would always shine through," said Schmidt.

"He was always that guy that, you know, everyone's hanging around a pool and he was the one that would just all of a sudden jump in, cannonball and, and make everybody notice him."

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