Hundreds attend funeral for Rideau Street shooting victim

Hundreds of friends and family members gathered on Saturday for the funeral of AshtonDickson, the 25-year-old former football star who was fatally shot outside a Rideau Street bar last month.

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Dickson'steammates and coaches fromhis playing days at St. Francis Xavier University were in attendance, many of them wearing caps and t-shirts adorned with the team's "X" logo.

The chapel at Hulse, Playfair& McGarryfuneral home was filled to capacity, as was every other room at the McLeod Street parlour.

Funeral officials estimated more than 500 people came to pay their respects to Dickson.

Dickson'touched the lives' of many

Randy Roseway, who played football alongside Dicksonat St. Francis Xavier, said he wasn't surprised by the huge turnout.

"He touched the lives of a lot of people. And as you can seethroughoutthat funeral home, there was nowhere to sit," said Roseway. "Everybody just wants to be there and show their support and say theirgoodbyestoAshton."

Those who spoke at the funeralremembered Dickson as someone who had no trouble making new friends, Roseway said.

I'll rememberAshtonas the guy who always wanted the football.- GordGallimore, football coach

"He was just generally a good guy and had a good heart. And the one thing that we can probably remember for sure is that he was lovable and laughable," said Roseway.

And while Dickson'ssense of humour endeared him to his teammates, he was also remembered as someone who was very serious about football.

GordGallimorewas one of Dickson'scoaches at St. Francis Xavier. He made the drive from Mississauga, Ont. to attend the service.

"I'll remember Ashton as the guy who always wanted the football," said Gallimore, laughing. "He was always very competitive."

Police still investigating

As Saturday's funeral brought friends and family together to rememberDickson'slife, Ottawa police continue to investigate the circumstances that led to his death.

In an email statement to CBC News on Saturday, Staff Sgt. Bruce Pirt of the major crimes unit said police"are still seeking the cooperation of the people that witnessed the shooting. They really need to come forward with the truth."

According to police, Dicksonwas involved in a "minor argument" inside the Mingle Room Bar and Loungeon RideauStreet in the early morning of June 26. The argument spilled outside the bar, where it turned deadly.

Since the shooting, police said they have struggled to track down witnesses and the lack of surveillance cameras at the Mingle Room has made the investigation more difficult. Late last month, Ottawa police asked anyone with video or photographic evidence of the shooting to come forward.

Dickson'sformer coach Gallimore is disturbed to think that Dickson'skiller is still out there.

"It's so tragic. He had all the right tools going for him. He's25 years old. He graduated from university. He was MVP. He had all these things going for him and then someone chose to take his life," said Gallimore.

"There's someone out there right now that could potentially do this to someone else. We're not safe. We want answers too."