Homicide unit investigating death of 16-year-old boy

Ottawa police say its homicide unit is investigating the death of a 16-year-old boy following reports of a fight Friday evening at McNabb Park.

Police and first responders were called to the park at the corner of Bronson and Gladstone avenues at 7:55 p.m., the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) said in a news release Saturday.

The boy was found suffering from undisclosed injuries, police said. He was taken to hospital and later died.

No arrests had been made as of late Saturday afternoon, OPS said. The police force said they did not believe there was any risk to the public.

By late Saturday afternoon, police had cleared the scene at the Centretown park. (Jean-Sébastien Marier/Radio-Canada)

'A tragedy'

"I'm deeply sad," said Somerset ward Coun. Ariel Troster, who'd seen caution tape in the park Saturday morning but didn't know what had happened at the time.

Troster said the death left her shocked and distressed, adding her thoughts were with the teen's family.

"I'm hearing from a lot of neighbours that are just really concerned," she said.

"It's a very peaceful park and it's really, really well-used. So, It's just really shocking to hear it happened here."

Catherine Boucher is president of the Dalhousie Community Association. She called the death of the teen in McNabb Park a tragedy, but said she hadn't heard many concerns about the park's overall safety and added that it's well-loved by the community. (Kimberley Molina/CBC)

Those sentiments were echoed by Dalhousie Community Association president Catherine Boucher, who said she hoped the teen's death wouldn't taint people's perceptions of both the neighbourhood and McNabb Park.

The park is often a flurry of activity, she said, with people playing on the jungle gym and using the skateboard ramps.

"I don't know if this young man is a neighbour to us or lives in another neighbourhood," Boucher said. "But obviously what happened here is a tragedy [and] shouldn't have happened anywhere."

As of Sunday afternoon, police had not released the boy's name.

Anyone with information about what happened is being asked to contact the OPS homicide unit or Crime Stoppers.

Ottawa police say a 16-year-old boy was found with serious injuries Friday night at McNabb Park and later died in hospital. (Radio-Canada)