Concerned residents attend community safety meeting in Bells Corners

Police say a pedestrian died after being struck by a vehicle in Bells Corners on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. The driver is being investigated. (Caelan Benn/CTV Ottawa)

After a rash of violence in Bells Corners, dozens of concerned residents gathered at a public meeting to discuss the creation of a neighbourhood watch program in the area.

Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod says the goal is to prevent crime following four unrelated instances of criminal activity in January. MacLeod hosted the meeting alongside Rick Chiarelli, the councillor for the area 

"We are going to get over this very dark time,” MacLeod said addressing community members.

The latest crime in that area involved white supremacist graffiti with pictures of Adolf Hitler and and other hate posters outside a west-end mosque on Old Richmond Road last week.

On both January 21^st and the 13^th, shell casings were found following two separate shootings.

This happened around the same time teenager Nick Hickey was struck and killed while walking along Seyton Drive on January 19th. The alleged driver, Guillermo Escobedo-Hoyo is facing second-degree murder.

The watch program encourages residents to report any suspicious activity to Ottawa Police in an effort to stop any violent or illegal activity.

“Petty crimes or major crimes through anonymity is required, and also for the police to collect metrics and analytics in order for them to know where they need to deploy resources,” MacLeod said.

Community members can report a crime online through the Ottawa Police website. Anonymous calls can be made to Crime Stoppers at crimestoppers.ca or 1-800-222-8477.