There have been unanswered questions Saturday in regards to the circumstances that led the sufferer, Vuyo Kashe, to deadly gunfire on Clarence Road.
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A 36-year-old man is useless and Lowertown neighbours are on edge following a Friday evening taking pictures on a residential avenue off King Edward Avenue.
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There have been unanswered questions Saturday in regards to the circumstances that led the sufferer, Vuyo Kashe, to deadly gunfire on Clarence Road, between the King Edward and Nelson Road intersections, at about 11:40 p.m. the evening earlier than.
What police may say Saturday was that neighbours had heard gunshots, there have been a number of 911 calls and the sufferer was discovered deceased on the street.
They didn’t have any indication that there was a public menace, in response to the murder unit’s Workers Sgt. Jeff Pilon. However police had been working to determine any suspects, “And all of the who, why, when, the place, how,” mentioned Pilon.
Of their talks with witnesses, they’d but to come across anybody who truly noticed the taking pictures happen.
“If there are some (eyewitnesses) and so they haven’t reached out, we’d like to speak to them,” mentioned Pilon. “Or if anyone has video that captures the taking pictures, we positively want to see that.”
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One of many 911 callers was Clarence Road resident Christie Millen, 38. She heard the gunshots — a number of neighbours advised this newspaper of listening to 5 or 6 — and turned off her lights and got here to the entrance door, the place she noticed Kashe mendacity on the street.
After calling for assist, she waited a minute — “I simply needed to attend to ensure there wasn’t anyone, any lively shooters nonetheless round” — after which went exterior herself to see if he was nonetheless respiratory. She shortly backed away, with the arrival of police and their calls for everyone to get down.
“I watched them try to save him. Clearly, that didn’t occur.”
Millen didn’t sleep nicely Friday evening. And after six years in her condo, the potential of shifting was on her thoughts.
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“It’s not likely about me, although. Took a little bit second of silence for him this morning and had my tea out right here with the bees and the birds and every part. However there was detectives strolling round, so it wasn’t very peaceable.”
She had searched the sufferer’s title. “It doesn’t appear to be he’s had a straightforward life.”
In 2013, on the age of 27, Kashe pleaded responsible and acquired a four-year jail sentence for 2 robberies whereas armed with a knife — one at a Tremendous 8 Motel and the opposite at a payday mortgage institution, each in Saskatoon, the place he stole a complete of $310.
Defence lawyer Shane Kozakavich mentioned the robberies had been fuelled by Kashe‘s drug issues — at the moment, an habit to crack cocaine. He famous one of many victims advised police Kashe was apologizing to her at the same time as he robbed her and promised to not harm her.
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Kashe needed to serve his jail time for the robberies and get assist for his addictions, the defence mentioned.
In 2016, Postmedia reported that Kashe was needed on a Canada-wide warrant for parole violation.
In two years of residing on Clarence Road, strolling his canines within the neighbourhood each single day, 27-year-old Mike Smith mentioned he’s seen thefts, and other people strolling round with bats and knives, however nothing like Friday’s deadly taking pictures.
“I actually want to know … only for peace of thoughts, like if it was a focused assault or if it was simply random as a result of, like, that’s terrifying if it’s simply random,” mentioned Smith. His girlfriend had arrived residence simply minutes earlier than the taking pictures; Saturday, she was taking a look at condo listings.
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One other neighbour, who didn’t need to give her title, mentioned she didn’t need to see “the issues of King Edward Road” spill over onto their block and surrounding streets, the place owners, scholar renters and Ottawa Neighborhood Housing tenants dwell.
The Lowertown-ByWard Market space, residence to residents, companies and a excessive focus of shelter, habit and social companies suppliers, has been exhausting hit by a poisonous drug provide, homelessness disaster, and pandemic disruptions to companies and companies very important to group well-being.
In the identical spot Kashe was slain, Millen mentioned she noticed somebody revived from a near-fatal overdose. Final fall, a woman was assaulted down the road, Millen mentioned, and earlier than that she recalled one other taking pictures a number of blocks away.
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“It’s solely been the final couple of years that I’ve been noticing so much. Earlier than that, it was the occasional individual like excessive or drunk or one thing, yelling as they stroll down the road … actually, it’s solely been throughout COVID that possibly I’ve been residence sufficient to note as a lot. However I don’t keep in mind a lot of this taking place earlier than the final two years.”
Anybody with details about the taking pictures was requested to contact the Ottawa police murder unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5493. Nameless suggestions might be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca .
