An 18-year-old man, Stenley Guercin, died after being riddled with bullets during a party the night of Thursday to Friday, in the Mont-Royal area. His friends mourn on Christmas Eve a smiling young man who was always ready to help others.
Stenley Guercin was pronounced dead in a hospital on Friday. His identity was confirmed at Press by police sources. “It’s the 36e homicide that has been recorded this year, ”said agent Manuel Couture, spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
At approximately 1:45 a.m., Thursday to Friday night, emergency services and police received a call to report a person with a gunshot wound at a residence on Trenton Avenue, near Aberdare Road.
On their arrival, the police say they located the young man, who was then “unconscious and injured in the upper body by more than one projectile of a firearm”. He was quickly taken to hospital. Until late morning Friday, his condition was deemed “critical” and he was still fighting for his life. His death was finally confirmed by a doctor.
“He was always there, always supported me, helped me with every little thing I needed”, told Press, Destiny Montgomery, a close friend of Stenley’s.
She wished to stress that he was not involved in criminal activities. “Bad people were picking on him, and he was defending himself, and it went wrong,” she says. “He wasn’t involved in these things, he was working, he was finishing school,” Destiny continued.
Wed, a second friend of the victim who did not wish to reveal her last name, added on this point. “He was not in street gangs. He was often mixed up in situations and conflicts with some, but Stenley was such a calm guy, smiling respectful, no problem, ”she wrote to Press.
“I never thought I’d lose a friend like her, I adored him so much. It breaks me to see so much hatred in this city, people having fun taking the lives of innocent people, ”she added. The victim, who resided in the borough of Anjou in Montreal, had recently moved to Repentigny.
“At first I didn’t believe it was true,” said a childhood friend of 13-year-old Stenley, who cannot be named. “When I was called, I was told all that, there I started a shock. I panicked, ”the teenager continued.
He has fond memories with the victim. “We always played video games together,” he said.
Ramzi Kerouicha has employed Stenley at his restaurant for several months this year. “Beyond an employee, there is a friendly relationship that has been created,” he stressed. “He was someone who loved to laugh with everyone,” he recalled.
It was just unthinkable that a person like that could have lost their life that way.
Ramzi kerouicha
Messages of sympathy also rocketed on social networks in memory of Stenley, nicknamed OB (for “O’Black”) by his friends.
“R. i. p my Stanley thank you for always being there when I needed you you protect me in elementary school thank you for everything Stanley tell you that I will always cry for you big brother ”, wrote an Internet user on Instagram. “Rest in peace my friend you stay in my heart for all eternity,” another posted.
In the middle of a party
According to initial information, it seems that a party was taking place in a private residence and that, “suddenly suspects at the scene would have shot the victim to then flee before the arrival of the police”, recounted the agent Caroline Chèvrefils, shortly after the events.
The crime scene has been protected so that investigators and forensic identification technicians can attempt to shed light on the circumstances of this attempted murder.
At the end of the day Friday, no suspect had yet been arrested by the police. Investigators did not have a guess as to the cause of the shooting. “It is still too early to establish a hypothesis”, notably supported Mme Honeysuckles.
Note that the dog unit was dispatched to the scene to help search for additional clues that could be useful for the investigation.
With Daniel Renaud and Mayssa Ferah, Press, and The Canadian Press