Ottawa police are investigating the death of a young teen who was killed in what looks like a brazen gang-style murder.

It's believed the teenaged victim was shot several times before his body was dumped on a busy street in broad daylight in Ottawa's Chinatown neighbourhood.

According to witnesses, the boy was thrown out of a vehicle on Booth Street and left for dead on the sidewalk at about 10:30 a.m. Monday. A tarp covered bloody evidence on the street for much of the day.

A resident who lives in the neighbourhood saw it all unfold. A woman told CTV Ottawa her son was outside having a cigarette when he saw a car pull up to the curb. The victim was then pushed out of the vehicle.

"The person threw the body out. And that's it. He threw the body out and then he drove away," said Kim Nguyen.

Nguyen said her son saw more than one person in the vehicle. When the car left, he ran into the house to get his mother.

The two went back outside to try to help the teen, who was bleeding profusely from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to his side, Nguyen said.

Paramedics arrived a short time later and performed CPR on the male victim. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.

Nguyen said the victim appeared to be a teenager of Middle Eastern descent, who she didn't recognize from the neighbourhood.

Police have not identified the victim, and won't confirm reports that the crime is gang-related or that the victim is just 16 years old.

Sources have told CTV Ottawa the victim is known to police, but investigators haven't confirmed that either. Police have also not released information about a suspect vehicle or possible suspects.

An autopsy will determine the victim's exact cause of death.

Booth Street remained closed between Eccles Street and Poplar Street early Monday evening.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Catherine Lathem