Friends, colleagues remember Ottawa outreach worker killed in Chinatown stabbing
Posted Apr 26, 2021 08:45:00 PM.
The fatal stabbing of a community outreach worker in Ottawa's Chinatown has left a wake of sadness and grief in the sea of people whose lives he had touched.
Carl Reinboth, 64, was stabbed at the corner of Somerset Street West and Arthur Street, Friday, April 23, and was pronounced dead at hospital.
“There are people who are very angry at unfairness of it all, and the random nature of such a terrible thing happening to such a lovely person,” said Arwen McKechnie a co-worker of Reinboth's at the Somerset West Community Health Centre.
In a statement, the Somerset West Community Health Centre said that Reinboth provided thoughtful support to his clients, who trusted him.
We are devastated that Carl Reinboth, a member of the Somerset West Community Health Care staff, has died. pic.twitter.com/pOw9SmJhoM
— Somerset West CHC (@SWCHC) April 23, 2021
In a video, by the Ontario Harm Reduction Network, Reinboth said he quit using drugs in 1992 and then went to work helping others who were where he had once been.
“You're trying to figure out what to do with your life, and they say, 'do what you know,'” Reinboth said in the video. “And I knew playing saxophone wasn't going to make me any money,” he joked.
McKechnie said Reinboth helped his clients by getting them to health and housing appointments, or even just taking a moment to talk with them as they were having a rough patch.
“Carl had a calling to work in this way and to help people,” said McKechnie. “Because, he felt it was right, and that's a rare thing.”
There are no formal plans yet for a memorial, McKechnie said.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Reinboth's stabbing. The man also faces a charge of attempted murder after a second stabbing which happened nearby, that same morning.
