Shots fired every day, the murder of a young man: after a relatively quiet start to the year, Montreal has recently experienced a black series. The metropolis has recorded a firearm discharge event every day for a week. This recent upsurge rekindles the fears of residents and police about gun violence in the months to come.
A total of 7 incidents involving gunshots have occurred on 7 consecutive days in Montreal over the past week, 11 in 11 days, since March 19.
These events do not all have the same motive and are not all connected, but this recent upward trend, unless it subsides, seems to confirm the fears of several police sources from La Presse who feared an increase in events. of shots with the arrival of spring.
According to figures compiled by La Presse for the month of March – which only contain high-profile events – 16 firearm discharge events have occurred in the Quebec metropolis since the beginning of the month (as of March 29), the two third since March 19 inclusive.
When broken down, these 16 events include: one murder, six attempted murders (or armed assaults), and nine firearm discharges without victims, some of which were directed at buildings or vehicles.
According to figures compiled by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) for the months of January and February, and by La Presse for the month of March, the number of shooting events that occurred in Montreal during the however, the first quarter of 2023 is similar to that of recent years.
According to our compilations, 36 firearm discharge events (murder, attempted murder and shootings without victims) occurred in the first three months of 2023 (as of March 29), compared to 41 during the whole of first quarter of 2022, 30 during the same period in 2021 and 35 during the first three months of 2020.
Shots also rang out once again in Saint-Léonard on Wednesday evening, injuring an 18-year-old.
The suspect(s) fired at the young man from a moving vehicle around 11:10 p.m. The victim was walking rue Bonpart, near the intersection of rue Valdombre, when he was targeted. He is a man with no criminal record. He was accompanied by another man, who is not known to the police, according to initial information.
The shooter(s) spoke briefly with the victim before firing.
The injured was located in the parking lot of a shopping center on rue Bélanger where he had taken refuge after the attack. He was conscious when taken to hospital. We don’t fear for our life.
Two security perimeters were established: the first at the scene of the shooting, where projectile impacts could be observed, and the second at the place where the young man was found injured. The canine squad was requested on site.
There are currently no arrests in this case.
Eliana Di Gennaro has lived in the residential area where the shooting took place for 30 years. The “five or six” bangs heard on Wednesday reignited his concerns.
Her neighbor across the street called the police. She requested anonymity to avoid the risk of reprisals. “We’re worried. I have children and I closed the news. I don’t want them to know what happened,” she said.
She hopes that the rest of the neighborhood will follow her example and cooperate with the authorities, if another violent event occurs. “Everyone was telling me it was happening nearby, but no one was calling the police. People are jaded when it happens now, ”laments the mother of the family.
It is not yet known whether this new episode of armed violence is linked to the numerous conflicts between street gangs in the areas of Saint-Léonard and Anjou. Khaled Mouloudj, an 18-year-old young man, was shot dead two weeks ago in Anjou.
