OC Transpo shooting victim fled war in Ukraine, left scarred by 'nightmare' on bus

Share this Story : OC Transpo shooting victim fled war in Ukraine, left scarred by 'nightmare' on bus Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links News OC Transpo shooting victim fled war in Ukraine, left scarred by 'nightmare' on bus Reilly Blanchard-Rivington, 21, was already under a court-ordered weapons prohibition when he shot Oksana Stepanenko on the bus. Get the latest from Aedan Helmer straight to your inbox Sign Up Author of the article: Aedan Helmer Published Mar 18, 2025 • Last updated 0 minutes ago • 4 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account.

Ottawa Courthouse, file photo. Photo by Ashley Fraser / POSTMEDIA/FILE PHOTO Article content Oksana Stepanenko fled the war in Ukraine without a scratch, she told a judge earlier this month, but she was left with physical and emotional scars after she was shot by a pellet gun onboard an OC Transpo bus in an unprovoked attack in July 2024. “I’m a newcomer from Ukraine who chose this country to start a new life.



I wasn’t killed in Ukraine, where there is a war, but I was shot on a bus (in Ottawa),” she told the court in a victim impact statement. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

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Activate your Online Access Now Article content “I ran away from war without any scars, but being shot on the bus has been a nightmare for me,” Stepanenko said. Reilly Blanchard-Rivington, 21, was already under a court-ordered weapons prohibition when he shot Stepanenko on the bus as it travelled through downtown Ottawa on July 25, 2024. Blanchard-Rivington pleaded guilty in November to three of the 14 charges he initially faced, including assault causing bodily harm, recklessly discharging his Glock 19 air pistol and breaching the prior court-ordered ban on possessing weapons.

He had been under a weapons prohibition since December 2023 related to prior criminal charges and was released in May 2024 under the same weapons prohibition. He was also under a probation order at the time and was instructed to keep the peace and be of good behaviour, according to Assistant Crown attorney Vanessa Purdie. Purdie said his guilty plea was a mitigating factor as the Crown called for a sentence of four-and-a-half years in prison during a sentencing hearing on March 6.

Purdie said Stepanenko’s “devastating” victim impact statement was an aggravating factor. The Crown also listed Blanchard-Rivington’s “recent and escalating” criminal record as an aggravating factor and pointed to his previous instances of disobeying court orders. Evening Update The Ottawa Citizen’s best journalism, delivered directly to your inbox by 7 p.

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Article content Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Blanchard-Rivington chose to arm himself with the Glock air pistol that day as he and a group of friends were “seeking revenge” on another associate. He shot Stepanenko in an unrelated and “unprovoked” attack onboard the OC Transpo bus.

“There was no hesitation. This was a split-second decision made out of anger and annoyance,” Purdie told the judge. During her victim impact statement, Stepanenko said she was heading out to do some shopping that evening and was sitting at the back of the bus when Blanchard-Rivington and a group of friends boarded and began playing loud music on a portable speaker.

Blanchard-Rivington was dressed in all-black with a black face mask and backpack, according to the agreed statement of facts filed to support his guilty plea. Stepanenko asked Blanchard-Rivington and his friends to turn down the volume on their music on multiple occasions, but they refused, she told the court. She made her way to the front of the bus to report the behaviour to the driver, who told Stepanenko a special constable would be boarding the bus at an upcoming stop to resolve the dispute.

Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Blanchard-Rivington’s friends exited the bus, but he remained onboard as Stepanenko made her way back to her seat. She was carrying her phone in front of her body and Blanchard-Rivington accused her of filming him, which she denied.

Without warning, he promptly produced the air gun from his backpack and fired one pellet into her right knee. “I’m from Ukraine and, of course, for me, I was scared to see a person in a mask,” Stepanenko said. “My phone was in front of my body and he thought I was filming him.

He started to yell at me and swear and insult me ...

he wanted to grab my phone. “He took a gun out and he shot me.” Blanchard-Rivington fled the bus and led police on a brief foot pursuit before he was arrested on Elgin Street.

The air gun looks and sounds identical to a real firearm, the Crown said, and Stepanenko didn’t know at the time that she had been shot by an imitation air gun. “The gun tests as a firearm, it looks like a firearm, and (Blanchard-Rivington) was possessing it to exact revenge,” Purdie said. The gun was tested and had an average velocity of 394 feet-per-second, Purdie told the court.

Advertisement 5 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content “It is a barrelled weapon capable of inflicting serious bodily injury or death,” Purdie said, and is a known firearm as classified by the RCMP firearms table. Stepanenko eventually had surgery to remove the pellet from her knee and continues to experience pain around the five-centimetre scar.

“I’m in physical pain and discomfort all the time,” she said, describing a sensation “like pins and needles” around the scar. She still suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, she told the judge. “I stopped social activities, I still have trauma,” she said.

“I always choose a safe spot on the bus and don’t make eye contact (with anyone).” The shooting left her feeling “totally vulnerable,” Stepanenko said, and she fears for her safety once Blanchard-Rivington is released from incarceration. Blanchard-Rivington stood up in the courtroom and apologized to the woman “for the trauma I’ve caused.

I wish I could take it all back,” he said on March 6. Blanchard-Rivington’s defence lawyer, Jonathan Nadler, countered with a proposed two-year sentence with two additional years of probation. Ontario Court Justice Jacqueline Loignon was scheduled to render a sentence on March 14, but that hearing was delayed until March 26.

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