On January 14, 2025, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) reported that, working in conjunction with the Brockville Police Service and the Russell County OPP, they have arrested and charged a 26-year-old man in connection with multiple violent home invasions and shootings. Police are seeking help to identify other suspects. On December 29, 2024, at approximately 1:08 p.m., the accused, along with two other suspects, approached a victim who was seated in his vehicle near the 200 block of Altha Avenue, in the east end of the city. The victim was forcibly removed from the vehicle at gunpoint, and the keys to his apartment were taken. While the victim was confined, one of the suspects entered the victim’s apartment and stole several items. On October 24, 2025, at approximately 9:50 p.m., the accused, along with four other suspects, forcibly entered a residence in the 1600 block of Marinoff Way, in the east end of the city, making a demand for cash at gunpoint. The suspects fled the area with stolen property. On January 20, 2025, at approximately 8:55 p.m., the accused and two other suspects attempted to forcibly enter a residence in the 1200 block of Black Canary Drive, located in Ottawa south. The victim was inside the residence and was able to scare off the suspects, who had fired several rounds of ammunition into the victim’s home, before fleeing the area. The accused was also involved and charged with two shootings in the Brockville area and a home invasion involving firearms in the Limoges area in 2024. The 26-year-old man of Ottawa remains in custody. He is facing multiple Criminal Code charges, including discharging a firearm with intent, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit indictable offences, and numerous firearms-related offences, breaking and entering a dwelling, possession and use of restricted or prohibited firearms, careless and dangerous use of a weapon, wearing a disguise during the commission of an offence, and discharging a firearm in a reckless manner. The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Robbery Unit.
On January 12, 2026, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) Drug Unit dismantled a local drug trafficking and distribution network following a year-long investigation into activity in the Ottawa region. Officers executed eight search warrants at six locations in Ottawa and two locations in Gatineau. Seven individuals from the Ottawa and Gatineau area were arrested, resulting in 61 criminal charges being laid. Six of the seven individuals were held in custody for show cause hearings, while one individual was released on a Promise to Appear. As a result of the search warrants, officers seized: Three crime handguns, quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, MDA, crystal methamphetamine, MDMA, hydromorphone, oxycodone, pregabalin, liquid hydromorphone, as well as $185,390 in cash and 2 motor vehicles. Three additional individuals remain outstanding, and warrants are being sought for their arrest. These individuals will face a further 11 criminal charges.
On January 19th, 2026, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) and The Royal announced a partnership to launch a new Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT), an initiative designed to deliver immediate, specialized support to individuals experiencing mental illness or substance use crises in the community. This collaboration will pair a clinical mental health professional from The Royal’s soon-to-open Urgent Care Clinic with a specially trained OPS officer from their Mental Health Unit. Together, they will respond to calls across the national capital regions, providing immediate, on-scene assessment, de-escalation, and direct connections to care and community services. This new MCRT will be in the community in spring 2026, complementing the opening of The Royal’s Urgent Care Clinic, which will fill a critical gap in service, offering timely, specialized, compassionate treatment for people in a mental health crisis. By improving coordination between health care and law enforcement, The Royal and OPS are making it easier for people to get the right care, when and where they need it. “The Ottawa Police is proud to partner with The Royal to launch a new Mobile Crisis Response Team. These MCRTs enable us to connect people to the care and support they need, reflecting the OPS’s commitment to responding to mental health crises in the community,” said Deputy Chief Paul Burnett, Ottawa Police Service. This initiative is supported through provincial funding from the Solicitor General of Ontario, with resources committed through 2027, and is the newest MCRT to launch in Ottawa, following the partnership between The Ottawa Hospital and OPS.
