Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is looking for witnesses after a man suspected of robbing a bank was shot by Ottawa police and died in the city's east end Friday.

Police had responded to a call about an armed robbery at the TD Bank on Montreal Road at around 7 p.m. ET Friday.

The suspect fled on foot, according to police, and was shot at least once while leaving the scene.

An autopsy is being performed Monday.

In the meantime, nine provincial investigators are probing the case, with the help of people who were in that area at the time of the shooting.

Some neighbourhood residents say they're also looking for answers.

"I quickly dashed my child downstairs and called for my husband," said Nathalie Danis, who was on the phone when she heard yelling on Friday night.

When she looked out the window, she said, she saw two police officers with their guns drawn.

"I didn't know what was going on," she said.

Residents express concerns

Danis wondered if everyone living close to a bank should start worrying.

"There have been a rash of bank robberies," she said. "Is this a sign of the times?"

Megan Poelzer, who walks her dog down Claude Street to the area where the man was killed, also has questions.

"Did he owe money to a loan shark? Did he owe money for drugs?" she asked. "Was he really that desperate?

"Cause when it came down to it, no matter what problem you have in life, I would rather surrender to the cops than die for $6,000."

The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency, independent of the police, that investigates serious injuries or death as a result of police actions.

After preliminary evidence is gathered, any full investigation conducted could result in charges being laid against the officers involved.