Ottawa man facing multiple charges following assaults downtown

An Ottawa Police Service patch is seen in Ottawa, on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby)

An Ottawa man, 37, is facing multiple charges related to separate incidents that left at least three victims with injuries Wednesday afternoon in the downtown area, according to the Ottawa Police Service.

Police say they received a call around 2:30 p.m. reporting a man was causing disturbance at a building on Catherine Street. Officers note that the suspect had already fled the scene by the time they arrived.

Officers add that they received another call shortly afterward, reporting “the same man was damaging vehicles along Arlington Avenue,“ before moving on to assault multiple victims on Gladstone Avenue near Metcalfe Street, “while shouting derogatory racial slurs in relation to their specific ethnicities.”

That was when police located him. As he was being arrested, he allegedly assaulted and threatened the officers.

The 37-year-old has been charged with multiple counts of assault, including assault by choking, suffocating or strangling, assault with a weapon, and three counts of assault of a peace officer.

He was also charged with two counts of intimidation by violence, two counts of extortion, two counts of mischief of property under $5,000, eight counts of uttering threats, possession of a weapon for committing an offence, resisting arrest, robbery, and two counts of breach of probation.

The suspect appeared in court Thursday.

Anyone who may have been injured, or who has information about the incidents is asked to call police at 613-236-1222, extension 5166, or leave a tip anonymously at crimestoppers.ca.