The headlines read: “two dead, one injured in Ottawa’s Byward Market shootings.” The 43-year-old man that was shot and killed paid the ultimate price believing he was helping his friend.
When his friend was shot and wounded after an argument with the gunman, the victim and several other witnesses chased the shooter. Why would he do this? No one will ever know what he hoped to accomplish.
As the details of the tragedy continue to unravel, the media is quick to point out the victim’s failings. Nothing, however, has been said about the suspect.
Although the victim had a shady (drug-related) past, I only knew him as the beloved brother of my grandson’s mom. Why is that? Because he and his family were trying hard to put that shady past behind them. He had turned his life around so we (my family) knew him as a loving son, husband, father, brother, uncle, and brother-in-law that would do just about anything for anyone in need.
What the media fails to mention is that no one, nowhere, deserves to be gunned down in cold blood, unless of course they have just shot and killed someone themselves. The fact that some people resort to the use of a gun to settle their arguments sickens, and in this case deeply saddens me.
For the sake of the victim’s shocked, grieving family, I hope the investigation wraps up soon and reveals that the victim’s alcohol-induced actions were confrontational and foolish, but valiant and well-intended. He paid the ultimate price.
My condolences to you and your family. It’s never easy to lose a loved one, but I think it’s harder under those circumstances.