Homicide unit investigating death in Woodroffe Avenue home

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Police cars were stationed on the front lawn and behind the back yard of a Woodroffe Avenue home Thursday afternoon as a murder investigation continued.

The red-brick home, on a busy stretch of Woodroffe, is north of Baseline Road and the Algonquin College campus and south of the Queensway on-ramp.

Three full yard waste bags, two shovels, a blue recycling box and a green bin leaned against the front of the house.

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In a brief statement on social media Thursday, the Ottawa Police Service said officers had been called to a death in the home in the 1200 block of Woodroffe one day earlier.

“The death has been deemed to be a homicide,” the release said.

Police said Thursday they were still in the process of notifying the victim’s next-of-kin.

Clayton Hawkins, who lives across the street, said he watched a commotion Wednesday morning and afternoon as “10 cop cars and a white truck” appeared on the scene.

Soon afterwards, Hawkins said, “I saw an older gentleman with a big beard and a kid with a mask on the front lawn and they were separated from each other.”

Hawkins, who has lived in his home since October, also saw police bring out one person in a black bag Wednesday afternoon.

On Monday evening, Hawkins was outside having a cigarette when he noticed a “champagne-coloured SUV” stop on the busy road just south of the house.

“It was there for a good two or three minutes, then it slowly crept up and turned down the side street,” Hawkins said. “It was around 7 or 7:30 and I thought, ‘That’s kind of strange because even Uber drivers pull up and park in the laneway.’ That kind of stuck out for me.”

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Hawkins is also part of a group chat and said “there were some people who had issues with the house and the people in it. I never saw any issues or a ruckus or anything. It’s obviously a busy street, but I never really noticed anything too much out of the ordinary.”

Israel Kabulu, an Algonquin College student, lives with his family two doors down from the scene of the homicide.

Kabulu did notice a police car at the house when he arrived home from school Wednesday afternoon, but didn’t think too much about it.

“I haven’t seen anyone there and I don’t really pay attention to the neighbours,” he said. “I did see (a police car) there, but I didn’t think it was anything crazy, until (Thursday).”

Kabulu, who has lived in his house for six months, said “rest in peace to whoever suffered that tragedy.”

He said his family had never had any issues with the neighbourhood.

“It has been quiet,” he said. “From our experience, it has been nice. We have walked around the neighbourhood. There’s a park and everything. It has been a good experience, but obviously, something like this, it’s scary to think that this can happen so close to you.”

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Another neighbour who lives across the street and refused to give his name, said the family had been living in the house for about 15 years.

“I don’t really know the people,” he said. “I’ve been here a couple of years. The problem with the world is two words: hate and love. Nobody understands love. And someday, when love overtakes the power of hate, the world will be at peace.”

The man said he considered it an ordinary neighbourhood.

“Kids are in the park playing and I sit out in the backyard,” he said. “When something like that happens, it happens. If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere. I mean, look at Barrhaven.”

That community was in collective shock in early March after six people, including four children, a mother and a family acquaintance, died in the worst mass killing in Ottawa’s history.

kwarren@postmedia.com

X:Citizenkwarren

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