‘We called him Big Q’: Ottawa football community mourns 18-year-old killed in shooting

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The Ottawa minor football community is in mourning following the shooting death of 18-year-old Quentin Dorsainvil in Centretown late Sunday night.

“We called him Big Q,” said Mike Schmidt, the president of the Cumberland Panthers, who also served as Dorsainvil’s coach during the 2023 summer season. “He was funny, outgoing, a gentle giant. A real team guy.”

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The shooting took place on the corner of Nepean and Percy streets, at approximately 9:45 p.m. Police reported that a second victim also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and has been released from hospital.

Police also confirmed that one person is in custody for firearm offences from the shooting. The investigation continues into their potential involvement in the homicide, but no charges had been laid as of early Monday afternoon.

Dorsainvil was a defensive lineman for the Cumberland Panthers.

“He was a force every time he stepped on the field,” said Schmidt. “The football community here is a small one. This has hit all of us really hard. I’ve heard from dozens of his teammates. They’re hurting really bad.”

Following his 2023 season with the Cumberland Panthers, the 6-6, 300-pound Dornsainvil travelled south to play with Miami Central, hoping to make a bigger name for himself at a high school in the football hotbed of Florida.

Schmidt had already heard of Dorsainvil’s death through word of mouth before the Ottawa Police Service officially confirmed the news early Monday afternoon.

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There was a heavy police presence at the scene Monday morning, with police tape surrounding the intersection.

Paramedics and forensics teams were also on site and a tow truck drove away with a black Toyota sedan just after 11 a.m.

Several neighbours told the Ottawa Citizen they heard shots Sunday night.

One, who would only go by his first name, Devon, lives on the top floor of a nearby apartment building. He rushed to the window when he heard the shots, which he said took place on the corner of Nepean and Percy.

“I was watching TV, and then I heard a couple of shots … five would be my guess,” he said.

“And then, I was kind of sitting there for a second, ‘What the heck just happened?’ ” he said. “I came out onto the balcony and I saw people running from the corner here (at Nepean and Percy), and across to the other side of the building. That’s the pool building.

“They ran. There’s a pathway between the apartment building and a smaller building, and they ran along there. And then in front of that other building, they had an argument in front of the bushes. Two guys. They were arguing about something. I don’t know what. And then everyone just scattered.”

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He said all of that happened “immediately” after the shooting.

“I saw some guy sitting in front of the bush where the people had the argument. … And that’s where they loaded the guy into (an) SUV. There’s a pile of blood there. They went down Percy to Somerset into Chinatown. That’s pretty much all I saw. And then people screaming obviously. And then people running and the cops showing up and blocking off the area.”

The witness said the police arrived quickly.

“It’s weird,” he said. “I haven’t lived here that long, but still, it’s just like … someone got shot right there.”

He said there is typically noise in the neighbourhood at night, but he has never before experienced anything like what happened late Sunday. “We’re in Centretown, so you get some people walking around at night, for sure, but I’ve never seen violence or anything,” he said.

Concert promoter Brandon Bird said the shooting had nothing to do with the rap concert that took place at the nearby Bronson Centre on Sunday.

Bird owns the Diamond Mine Agency, the Ottawa-based company that promoted the all-ages, hip-hop concert with 21-year-old Memphis rapper NLE Choppa.

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“The people involved weren’t at the concert,” Bird said. “It had nothing to do with us. The police locked it down for public safety while they were trying to figure out what happened.”

The lockdown prevented concertgoers from leaving the venue for about 10 or 15 minutes until police were sure the area was safe.

The incident has left the football coach Schmidt with a hollow feeling. He says his only dealings with Dorsainvil were on the field and he didn’t know much about the rest of his life.

“It’s another senseless gun crime,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Service Homicide Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5493.

Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca.

— With files from Lynn Saxberg

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