“We are experiencing a tragic and unthinkable moment. No one wants to lose their child.” In Algeria, the father of the 3-year-old boy found dead in Bois-des-Filion last Monday finds it hard to believe that he will never see his little boy again.
“It’s beyond us. But we’re going to go through this as a whole family,” the man from Béjaïa, Algeria, says on the phone. He is still up despite the late hour in his native country when The Press manages to reach him. That’s because he hasn’t slept a wink since last Tuesday, the man explains. We cannot reveal his name due to a court order preventing us from identifying the little victim.
Monday evening, the police found the 3-year-old child with a gunshot wound in a residence on 34e Avenue, in Bois-des-Filion. Authorities then questioned three people aged 17 and 19. The trio was watching the child, according to our information.
Yacine Mehennaoui, 19, was charged with criminal negligence, possession of a prohibited weapon and attempting to conceal evidence in connection with this terrible case. According to our information, the authorities believe that the young man tried to get rid of the weapon shortly after the incident.
The father of the little victim does not know how he obtained the firearm in question and the circumstances surrounding the shooting. “I don’t know about anything at all. I am in nothingness. »
An accident, according to the father
The bereaved dad is categorical: it is indeed an accident. The suspect would never have harmed anyone, he thinks. “Of course it’s an accident,” he laments on the line. “But it really hurts for the whole family. »
The parents of the accused also find themselves immersed in this drama, he recalls. “It’s very painful for them. For all of us. »
His wife and son, visiting Canada, were staying in Bois-des-Filion. The little boy’s mother is inconsolable. She is still in Quebec currently. “We have a lot of support and we are well surrounded. We are all very, very close in the family,” he explains. He and his wife hope to one day settle in Quebec.
Despite the tragedy that occurred this week, they remain hopeful: they will be Canadian one day. “We cannot give up. We still have to make efforts for our children,” explains the father, who also has two daughters aged 7 and 10.