Man charged with murder in Barrhaven stabbing

Police have charged an Ottawa man with murder in connection with a death in Barrhaven Friday night. 

Emergency crews responded to a call at 8:10 p.m. Friday on the 200 block of Longfields Drive, police said in a post on X. The scene is about 15 kilometres southwest of downtown Ottawa. 

"It was a confrontation that spilled out onto the street," said Acting Inspector Brian Samuel. 

First responders found Kole Warren Watanabe, 27, with serious injuries. He had been stabbed, according to Samuel. Police released Watanabe's identity Saturday afternoon.

Munyaradzi Gonouya, 29, is charged with second-degree murder. He appeared in court on Saturday morning. 

Samuel said police could not comment on whether Watanabe and Gonouya knew each other but said the stabbing was an isolated incident. 

Neighbours shaken

Joey Pelletier lives down the road from where it happened. 

"There was a very strong police presence," he said, adding he noted 8 police cars.

He watched firefighters perform CPR on someone in the middle of the road, he said. Then paramedics arrived to assess the person and finally spread a sheet over them and put up a tent.

Liban Osman, who lives just a few doors down from the scene, didn't see what happened but did see some of the aftermath.

"I'm still shaking because when we came back from prayer, we saw a body," he said. "It's never an easy thing to see."

Osman told CBC they don't see a lot of crime in the area, noting "it's a very family oriented neighbourhood."

A neighbour from the opposite direction, Bell Tren, said she was told Barrhaven was a safe neighbourhood before her family moved in two years ago.

The idea of a murder in her neighbourhood is "so scary," she said while holding her infant close.

"[I'm] a little bit worried about …raising the child in Ottawa," she added. "It's a government city, so it's supposed to be safe."