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Shooter sought by Ottawa police after 1 killed, 3 injured at downtown Airbnb

Police are hunting for a suspect after a young man was killed and three others including a 15-year-old boy were seriously injured in a Wednesday morning shooting at a downtown Ottawa home listed on Airbnb.

Suspect has not been arrested, but police say scene considered secure

Downtown Ottawa shooting leaves 1 dead,3 inhospital

5 years ago
Duration 2:50
A suspect remains at large, but police said that this is 'not considered an active shooter situation.'

Police are hunting for a suspect after a man waskilled and three others including a 15-year-old boy were seriously injured in a Wednesday morning shooting at a downtown Ottawa home listed on Airbnb.

Manyok Akol, 18, of Ottawa died in the shootingat the Gilmour Street home, the Ottawa Police Service said Wednesday evening.

Two other young men, aged 19 and 20, and the teen boy were in hospital in serious condition, police said.

Paramedics saidthey were called tothe area of Gilmour and Kent streets,about a kilometre south of Parliament Hill,around 7:30 a.m. ET.

"Every type of [emergency] vehicle pulled up, officers taped off the area nobody was allowed to walk through,"said Kacey Griffiths, who lives on the block of Gilmour Street where the shooting occurred.

"I ran to my balcony to see what was going on, and I saw them go into the house and make sure the area was safe. They came out with weapons down. [Then] three ambulances showed up three people came out on stretchers, [looking] very injured."

Investigators make their way through the scene of a shooting that killed 18-year-old Manyok Akol and seriously injured three others in Ottawa's Centretown neighbourhood on Wednesday. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

'Targeted shooting'

As of 6:45p.m. ET, police had still not announced any arrests. The area is considered secure, however, and police saythere is no active shooter.

The teenager wastaken to the children's hospital CHEO, according to a hospital spokesperson.

"It's our understanding that the parties at the location, at the address, were known to each other," said Ottawa Police Service deputy Chief Uday JaswalWednesday afternoon.

"Therefore, we're [saying] that this was a targeted shooting."

Jaswalalso said the home where the shooting took place had been used as a short-term rental and Airbnb later confirmed it was a property listed on their site.

In a statement,Airbnb spokespersonBen Breitconfirmed the home was being rented yesterday.

Hesaid Airbnb had removed the booking guest from its platform and deactivated listings associated with the Gilmour Street address.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Gun violence is abhorrent, and our hearts go out to all who have been impacted. We are in close touch with the city and stand ready to support Ottawa Police Services with their investigation," Breit wrote.

Jaswal said Ottawa police have investigated anumber of recent shootings at short-term rentalsand would be taking a closer look at how to prevent those typeof incidents.

"It is something that we have noticed. It is something we're monitoring," he said.

Gilmour Street was closedbetween Kent and Lyon streets. It reopened at around 7 p.m.

The force is stillasking people to avoid the area, and itsmajor crime unit is investigating.

A police officer looks for evidence underneath a vehicle after the shooting on Gilmour Street. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

Insp. Francois D'Aoust said they don't have a description of the suspect and officers weregoing door-to-doorin the area Wednesday to gather more information.

Police said their investigation has also confirmed the shooting has nothing to do with national security.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said in a tweet he had been briefed on the situation and thanked first responders.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted he had spoken with Watson about the shooting. Trudeau said his "heart goes out to everyone affected."

After the shooting, theConseil des coles catholiques du Centre-Est, which operates French Catholic schools in the Ottawa area,placed four nearby schools in secure mode, meaning students were kept in classrooms and parentsneeded to check with the office to pick up their children.

That was lifted later in the morning.

No other local school boards said they'd takenthese types of precautions.

Police said their investigation has confirmed the shooting had nothing to do with national security. (Jennifer Chevalier/CBC)

With files from Judy Trinh, Adrian Harewood, Julie Ireton and Trevor Pritchard