Pubdate: Tue, 22 Sep 2015
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Don Butler
Page: A3

SECOND KILLING IN FIVE MONTHS HAS EAST-END STREET ON EDGE

Two Other Men Injured During Fight Between Groups; Two Suspects Held

A 17-year-old male from Jamaica who moved to Ottawa in December from 
Cornwall is the city's sixth homicide victim of 2015 after a multiple 
stabbing in Ottawa's east end.

Issaiah Clachar was stabbed to death early Sunday morning outside a 
high-rise apartment at 2020 Jasmine Cres. - the same building where 
18-year-old Connor Stevenson was killed in a drug-related stabbing in April.

Police said the incident was drug-related.

Paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after midnight. They found 
Clachar with multiple stab wounds. He later died of his injuries at 
the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

A 23-year-old man, whose name hasn't been released, was also stabbed 
and taken to The Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus, where he was listed 
in serious but stable condition.

Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Bruce Pirt said the man was being protected 
by police at the hospital. The man will be guarded "until we figure 
out where we're at," Pirt said. "If we deem there's no real threat, 
we'll pull the guard off."

A third man, believed to be in his 20s, was found some time later 
with "multiple soft tissue injuries," paramedics said.

Police have two men in custody. They were apprehended along the side 
of Highway 174 near Blair Road shortly after the stabbing. The area 
was marked off with police tape Sunday.

"We're still trying to determine the nature of their involvement in 
this," Pirt said. "They are suspects at this point."

Some residents of 2020 Jasmine Cres. told on Sunday of hearing 
shouting and loud arguments late Saturday night through their open 
apartment windows. "I thought it was young people having a battle," 
said Celine D'Etcheverry.

Another resident, who gave only her first name, Zeine, also heard 
sounds of fighting as she was lying in her bed.

She heard one person say, "No, no," then, "I'll give you a cheque." 
After that, she said, she heard a voice softly call once for help. 
"That's it. I didn't hear anything after that."

The woman said she remained in her bed and didn't call police. "I was 
so afraid. I have kids and I didn't want to make noise."

Clachar's Facebook page lists his home as Kingston, Jamaica, and says 
he attended Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School. But a posting 
on his Facebook page said he would be moving to Ottawa last December.

It's not clear how many of his family members live in Canada, but 
they appear to include his father and his sister, who live in 
Toronto, and perhaps his mother.

Clachar's girlfriend, Montrealer Trisha White, posted a poignant 
farewell on Facebook Sunday.

"R.I.P. baby ... I'm never gonna forget you or stop loving you," she 
wrote. "You asked me everyday if I'm gonna be with you forever, and 
my answer is still the same and always will be the same. I will be 
with you and love you forever with all my heart."

Other friends posted messages describing Clachar as a "great guy" who 
will be sorely missed.

"You brought so many smiles and laughter," wrote Aaliha Kahawenion 
Lazore. "Every time I seen you with the boys you were always making 
jokes and always smiling. You won't be forgotten."

Clachar's profile picture shows a slender youth in a T-shirt and ball 
cap, gazing at a white smartphone. A backpack hangs on the door behind him.

That same backpack, along with a black toque and a single Nike 
sneaker, was visible behind yellow police tape Sunday near a 
red-andwhite cone in a treed grassy area marking the spot where 
Clachar fell. A pellet gun and knife were also recovered at the scene.

Smears of blood were visible on the white tiles of the lobby at 2000 
Jasmine Cres. and on the sidewalk outside, suggesting the violent 
incident, which pitted two small groups of youths against one 
another, began there.

There was another large smear of blood on a grey Jetta in a parking 
lot between the apartment blocks at 2020 and 2000 Jasmine Cres.

Nearby, a black Acura sat as if poised to leave. A resident who 
wouldn't give her name said she saw two men run to the car after the 
stabbing, but they abandoned it after it wouldn't start.

Forensic officers, wearing blue gloves, were at the crime scene 
Sunday morning, beginning the painstaking job of gathering evidence.

The homicide comes just five months after Connor Stevenson, a student 
at nearby Gloucester High School, was stabbed multiple times as he 
stood in the sixth floor stairwell of his apartment at 2020 Jasmine Cres.

Stevenson's mother, Laurie Beaudoin, reacted on Facebook to the 
latest stabbing. "I am telling you this world is f-----g crazy and I 
am really scared for our young people right now," she wrote.

Not surprisingly, the two homicides have many residents on edge.

"It's making me nervous, for sure," said Bola Lanre, who moved Ottawa 
from Sault Ste. Marie two years ago to attend the University of Ottawa.

"I never experienced any of this in Sault Ste. Marie," she said. 
"It's kind of scary knowing there's something like this going on. I'm 
just hoping nothing crazy happens again."

Sumedh Raghavan, who has lived at 2020 Jasmine Cr. for seven years, 
said the crime problem has become a lot worse in recent months.

"It's been getting out of hand, the amount of blade attacks going 
on," he said. "Usually there's stuff that goes on around here, but 
usually not at this level. It's never been violent like it is now. 
It's a bit unnerving."

Raghavan blamed a small group of young males for the trouble, some of 
whom don't even live in the area. "They have this gang mentality. 
They're trying to make it like a 'hood."

Tim Tierney, who represents the area on city council, said Clachar's 
killing, like Stevenson's in April, appears to have been targeted 
rather than random.

Even so, he said, "It's still heartbreaking, because a lot of people 
in this community know these kids. This does not reflect that 
community at all. It's a very safe community."

Tierney said he will be meeting with police officials and Eli 
El-Chantiry, chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board, early in the 
week to "come up with a meaningful plan" to ensure that Jasmine 
Crescent residents feel safe.

That could involve a community meeting, similar to the one Tierney 
organized after Stevenson's killing, he said.

Police officers will be very visible in the area for the next week or 
so, canvassing residents and answering questions.

Tierney said he will be out as well to hear what residents are saying.

- - with files from Shaamini Yogaretnam 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom