Police cordoned off the Ottawa Muslim Cemetery on Manotick Station Road after shots were fired in the area Friday afternoon. Photo: Blair Crawford/Postmedia

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The shooting marred the funeral of a man shot and killed earlier this week in Ottawa, and the city’s busiest emergency room was locked down when the injured victim showed up for treatment Friday afternoon.

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The shooting happened at the Ottawa Muslim Cemetery on Manotick Station Road about 2:45 p.m., when mourners had gathered to bury 24-year-old Abdulhamid Haji Ragab. Ragab died Thursday, two days after he was shot in a brazen daytime attack on Banff Avenue. On Friday, Ottawa police arrested and charged Chawn Lemieux, 23, with second-degree murder. The victim of the shooting at the cemetery, whose injuries were not life-threatening, police said, showed up at the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus emergency department a short time later. The hospital called “Code White,” indicating a threatening situation, and police and hospital security personnel locked down the emergency room, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. Eight Ottawa Police Service cruisers were parked around the emergency department entrance as staff and patients filed outside. The lockdown was lifted around 4pm

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Meanwhile, officers at the Ottawa Muslim Cemetery at 1668 Manotick Station Rd. in Greely stopped and questioned some of those who fled the scene after the shooting. Police later said they were speaking with members of the community to help people understand the police actions. Police cruisers blocked off the entrance, preventing anyone from entering the property. Just before 6 p.m., an Ottawa Paramedic Service Special Response Unit drove to the cemetery, which is 500 meters down a tree-lined lane and not visible from the road. A second ambulance was also parked in the lane. Shortly before 11 p.m., police announced that the “on-scene operation” had been completed and police cleared the scene. “The investigation is still ongoing,” the statement added.

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Four years ago, in September 2018, Ragab and two other men were arrested and charged in connection with a shooting near the intersection of Hunt Club Road and Bank Street. A caller reported hearing gunshots coming from a vehicle. Police located the vehicle and gave chase. The perpetrators bailed out and ran, but were tracked down with the help of a police dog. Ragab, then 20, was charged with firearms offences, including discharging a firearm with intent. Friday’s shooting was the third in Ottawa this week. On Wednesday, another man suffered life-threatening injuries in a daytime shooting at the Britannia Woods housing complex on Ritchie Street. Police said the shooting is not related to the homicide on Banff Avenue. That man remained hospitalized Friday. Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service’s Guns and Gangs Unit at 613-236-1222 ext 5050. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or online at crimestoppers.ca. The emergency department at The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic campus was on lockdown for just over an hour Friday afternoon after a person with a gunshot wound arrived there. jpg

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