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A general view of the mall is shown as people take in Boxing Day offers at the CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa on Dec. 26, 2023. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby
Police say they have laid a first-degree murder charge in a stabbing that occurred outside the Rideau Centre in downtown Ottawa.
The incident occurred in the late afternoon of Feb. 19, with police saying they were called to the scene at the shopping centre and located a 58-year-old individual with life-threatening injuries who died shortly after being transported to hospital.
In a Feb. 20 update, the Ottawa Police Service’s (OPS) Homicide Unit announced a first-degree murder charge against Yves Brisebois, 70, in relation to the stabbing.
The identity of the victim is being withheld until next of kin are notified, according to police, who have not commented on a possible motive or any possible relationship between the suspect and victim.
Video from the scene show police and first responders trying to save the victim and loading the victim into an ambulance as bystanders look on.
In addition to the fatal attack on Feb. 19, Ottawa has experienced several recent stabbing attacks, including on Feb. 10 when police say an individual received non-life-threatening injuries after a stabbing on Woodroffe Avenue. A youth was charged with assault with a weapon, two counts of failing to comply with an order, assault causing bodily harm, and possessing a weapon in the attack.
Earlier, on the evening of Jan. 29, a stabbing on the 800 block of St. Laurent Blvd. in Ottawa left a victim with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. OPS noted that two individuals were taken into custody as a result of this attack and the investigation is ongoing.
Crime in Ottawa rose about 1 percent last year, according to a report from the OPS, putting its overall crime rate above the baseline in Ontario. It found the main drivers of the city’s crime rate were auto theft, assaults, arson, and theft under $5,000, along with offences related to harassment.
The Feb. 19 fatal stabbing is Ottawa’s fourth murder of the year. Last year, the city recorded 19 homicides, five of which remained unsolved by year’s end.
Last year’s homicide rate was down from 2024’s, in which Ottawa recorded 26 homicides.
