Summer 2021. Gunshots in the metropolis make headlines every week. July 30 is no exception. The outdoor terrace reserved for the occupants of the luxurious Tour des Canadiens, in Montreal, is the scene of an episode of armed violence in broad daylight involving two young men known to the police. The shooter then flees to take the subway wearing a shower cap, leaving his gun behind.
Fritz-Entzcy Moïse-Alfred, 26, pleaded guilty Wednesday before Judge Lori Weitzman to a charge of discharging a prohibited firearm in connection with this episode of gun violence in a public place. He admitted shooting in broad daylight at a man in his twenties known to the police.
A 911 call was made to report shootings that occurred at noon on the terrace of the Tour des Canadiens in July 2021. The common area is located at the back of the building. The two men involved in this umpteenth episode of armed violence therefore have a view of the sidewalk where passers-by stroll.
Sequences filmed by the building’s surveillance cameras and filed in evidence during the hearing held in Montreal detail the scene.
The shooter and the victim, Tshibamba Jordy Tshimanga, are together inside the Tour des Canadiens on the morning of the crime, according to the joint statement of facts read by Crown prosecutor Me Jean-Philippe Mackay. They are with a group of people circulating between two floors.
A few hours later, around noon, the two meet on the terrace.
Dressed in orange shorts, sandals and carrying a men’s shoulder bag, Moïse-Alfred approaches the victim. He takes a handgun from his bag and shoots in the direction of the young man. The assailant watches his victim flee towards rue Saint-Antoine Ouest. Mr. Tshimanga then drove to the hospital in an Infiniti M35 vehicle driven by a woman accompanying him. Mr. Tshimanga, injured in the left shoulder, refused to cooperate with the police and was discharged from the hospital the same day.
The shooter returns to the interior of the apartment with his shoulder bag. He comes out without the bag. He heads for the Bonaventure metro station, a stone’s throw from the Tour des Canadiens. In the videos filed in evidence, Mr. Moïse-Alfred can be seen strolling downtown wearing a pink shower cap.
“The police investigation makes it possible to follow the movements of the accused between the Bonaventure metro station and the Cartier metro station, in Laval”, indicates the summary of the facts. The police then lose track of him.
Officers found a 9mm bullet casing and traces of blood on the terrace once there. The suspect has already left the scene. They arrest a woman carrying two suitcases. They find the shooter’s bag in one of them.
Moïse-Alfred was finally arrested in October 2021 by the Laval police. He admitted in questioning to being the person wearing orange Bermuda shorts in the screenshots and videos taken from the Tour des Canadiens surveillance system. The skyscraper located in downtown Montreal is a stone’s throw from the Bell Center and is home to high-end condos.
A pre-sentence report will be filed for the rest of the legal process, a rather unusual measure for this type of crime. “My client wanted to explain what happened that day,” defense attorney Anthony El-Haddad told Judge Weitzman.
The motive for the attack was not mentioned in court on Wednesday.
Me Jean-Philippe Mackay is representing the public prosecutor in this case. Sentencing submissions are scheduled for August 3.
