Gun violence hits home for Manor Park residents

Residents of a cooperative housing complex in Ottawa's east end are shaken after someone fired gunshots into three units Wednesday night.

Ottawa police responded to reports of shots fired on Claremont Drive near St. Laurent Boulevard in Manor Park shortly after 7 p.m.

Officers found "several" shots had been fired into three units at 10 Claremont Dr., police said. 

At least four bullet holes were visible Thursday morning, including one in Tanya Norris's front door at Number 38. The bullet pierced the door and a shared wall, entering the next-door unit where it struck another wall inside.

Violence 'literally entered my home.'

"It makes you nervous. The violence literally entered my home," said Norris, who was home with her three-month-old daughter when she heard five popping noises.

There was nothing going on outside to explain the noises, Norris said. She didn't notice the bullet holes until a short time later when police showed up at her door.

Norris, who has two other children and whose boyfriend was out shopping at the time of the shooting, said she's scared to think what might have happened if someone had been standing near the front door.

Three bullets crashed through Andre Cloutier's living room window on the other side of Norris's unit.

"We're really, really shocked and we didn't know what to think," Cloutier said. He said he and his girlfriend weren't home at the time, but returned less than an hour later to find police blocking off the dead end street. 

"We were so grateful we weren't inside," Cloutier said.

Dog found hiding under bed

They weren't allowed into their unit until after midnight. A police officer found Cloutier's dog, which was home at the time of the shooting, hiding under a bed.

While Cloutier said the neighbourhood has improved, he believes his girlfriend will want to move.

A tenant in the third unit that was struck said she was also out at the time of the shooting, and returned home soon after.

The units belong to Yule Manor Co-op. No one from the rental office responded to requests for comment.

Police investigating the shooting, but have not made any arrests.

There was a fatal shooting in the same area in January 2016.

Norris said she wants more surveillance cameras installed near her home, along with a security guard to patrol the neighbourhood.