The Israeli Prime Minister's office issued the statement in response to what it referred to as a 'completely false' local television report about US pressure on Israel
world1 week ago
Two people were killed and six others wounded late Saturday in a shooting in the parking lot of a reception venue in Ottawa, authorities said.
Two weddings were taking place at the venue when gunfire erupted outside, sending shocked guests scrambling for safety.
"It was chaos, there was no general direction of where people were running, it was just everywhere," Nico, who came to the wedding to pick up his friend, told AFP, declining to give his surname.
"It was rapid shots, and then there was screaming, and then there was a pause, and then there were more shots, probably like 15-16 more shots that I can recall," Nico said.
The shooting began at 10:21pm Saturday (0221 GMT Sunday) in the parking lot of a south-end convention hall where two separate wedding receptions were being held simultaneously. Police "said to stay in our vehicles. We could not leave the scene," the witness said.
Ottawa police confirmed that fatalities were of two men, aged 26 and 29, both from Toronto, Canada's largest city. They said that Americans were among the six wounded but that their lives were not in danger. Their identities were not released.
"We are in the process of connecting the pieces of the puzzle," Martin Groulx, police inspector, told AFP about the ongoing investigation. He said police had no sign for now to suggest the shooting was a hate crime "related to race or religious beliefs."
"But we do not eliminate this option," he added, specifying that the investigation had yet to determine a motive.
As of Sunday afternoon, no arrests had been made.
The two deaths from the shooting bring to 12 the number of homicides recorded in 2023 in Ottawa, Canada's capital, which has a population of about one million. Several Canadian cities have seen a marked increase in armed violence in recent years with increasingly frequent shootings, according to the Canadian government. Since 2009, the country has seen an 81 per cent increase in violent gun crime.
ALSO READ:
The Israeli Prime Minister's office issued the statement in response to what it referred to as a 'completely false' local television report about US pressure on Israel
world1 week ago
Israeli President Isaac Herzog termed the United States as a 'true ally'
world1 week ago
'All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop', said the spokesman for the Secretary-General
world1 week ago
Indian agencies have uncovered a network that sold fake tickets or charged exorbitant prices for legitimate ones for both concerts
world1 week ago
Saturday's attack was one of the deadliest attacks in the area in recent months
world1 week ago
Satellite data from Brazil's space research agency Inpe showed that Bolivia had 70,628 fire hot-spots up until September 22
world1 week ago
According to airport authorities, flight operations will be halted starting 6:00 PM on Thursday
world1 week ago
Airport operations are currently impacted, and passengers should not come to the airport at this time, the spokesperson said
world1 week ago