Guns and gangs unit investigating 3 drive-by shootings on Sunday

Three drive-by shootings which occurred in a span of less than 14 hours on Sunday are being investigated by the Ottawa police guns and gangs unit.

The first happened at about 3:30 a.m. in the Overbrook neighbourhood. A 25-year-old man sitting in the passenger seat of a car had been shot, leaving him with serious injuries, Ottawa police said in a media release.

He was found on PreslandRoad, near WhittonPlace, not far from the Vanier Parkway and Coventry Road.

The man was taken to hospital for treatment and was later released, police said.

Shots fired into housein Blackburn Hamlet

At a press conference Monday following the "unusual" day of shootings which also included the killing of 33-year-old OmarRashid-Ghader at a ByWard Market nightclub Ottawa police Supt. DonSweet said there was also a second victim involved in the PreslandRoad shooting.

That victim had alsobeen treated athospitaland released, Sweet said.

Less than two hours later, at about 5:15 a.m., a second drive-by shooting occurred on Innes Roadnear Bearbrook Road in Blackburn Hamlet.

A house there was shot at multiple times, police said.No injurieswere reported.

Sweet said the shooting took place at an "afterparty" following a night out in the ByWard Market, although he couldn't officially connect it to the death of Rashid-Ghader at the Sentral Nightclub.

"Whether it was related to that bar or not, we're still trying to confirm," he said.

"I believe our investigators are being challenged right now with the cooperation level they're getting from witnesses and victims."

Car found after shootingin Cyrville area

The third drive-by shooting involved two cars just before 5 p.m. near Ogilvie Road and Cummings Avenue.

Investigators believe several shots were fired from the two cars: a grey Nissan Altima and an older model Ford Mustang with an air intake on its hood and blacked-out headlights.

Police later found the Mustang with the help of the public and social media,but were still looking for the AltimaMonday afternoon, said Sweet.

The "pretty blatant drive-by" happened in an area where there were multiple bystanders, Sweet said however, no injuries were reported.

"It's only really luck that somebody wasn't hit on that one," he said.

Anyone with information about these cases is asked to contact the guns and gangs unitat 613-236-1222, ext. 5050.Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).