Ottawa: Youth Arrested After Shots Fired During Facebook Marketplace Deal in Manotick

A meetup arranged through Facebook Marketplace escalated into gunfire outside a bank in Ottawa's Manotick neighborhood.

It was around 10:30 in the morning when the first calls started coming in: gunfire, near a bank, on Beaverwood Road, in the Manotick neighborhood. Nothing about this quiet weekday morning suggested a scene like this was coming.

The origin of the incident, though, was far more mundane. A seller had arranged to meet an interested buyer, contacted through Facebook Marketplace, to complete a transaction. But at the moment of exchange, the buyer allegedly pulled out a firearm and tried to grab the item rather than pay for it.

Ottawa police responded quickly, and a young suspect was arrested at the scene. The investigation continues to establish exactly how events unfolded.

The incident prompted Ottawa police to remind residents of the camera-monitored trade zones available outside several police stations, where private-sale transactions can take place in a far safer setting than a parking lot or a residential street chosen at random.