As Montreal recovers from a Wild West night, concern is mounting for parents of young children in Rosemont and Anjou over two shootings within walking distance of elementary schools , even smashing the window of one of them.
• Read also: Two young people targeted on the grounds of a school in Montreal
When the bell of the Roseraies school rang at the end of the morning on Tuesday, Fouzia Aourtilane was waiting for her little girl in front of the door in the pouring rain. She was annoyed, not by the deluge falling on her head, but by the shots that had been fired at the school building on Boulevard des Galeries-d’Anjou a few hours earlier. Young people who were in the courtyard were targeted by individuals in a vehicle, but were not injured. A window damaged by a projectile had to be replaced in the morning.
“It’s because I had to pick her up for dinner, but I would have stayed home today,” admits the woman, disturbed.
A few moments later, the little one came to join her mother for dinner. The little girl, whose mother preferred to keep her name silent, celebrated her birthday and was about to blow out her 11 candles on Tuesday.
“I’m afraid. It’s a funny party, ”says the young student dressed in a raincoat, visibly troubled.
Photo QMI Agency, Maxime Deland
An employee was busy Tuesday to replace a window having been pierced by a projectile of firearm at the primary school of Roseraies, in the borough of Anjou, in Montreal.
A victim affected
Shortly after midnight, more shots rang out, this time downtown. A 38-year-old man who was at Place Émilie-Gamelin, rue Berri, was hit by at least one projectile and is in stable condition.
An hour later, a vehicle was riddled with bullets while parked on the edge of Monarques elementary school in Rosemont.
“It’s coming seriously, it’s really less safe and I don’t like it,” says René Thériault, who has lived in the neighborhood for fifty years and who was awakened by the gunshots.
Finally, around 2 a.m., the series of shootings ended on rue Saint-Denis, near boulevard De Maisonneuve Est, downtown. Two men aged 26 and 32 were affected and are in stable condition. The crime could be linked to the one that occurred earlier at Place Émilie-Gamelin and would be linked to drug trafficking, according to our sources. The two stages are located 200 meters away.
As the event on rue Saint-Denis took place in the middle of this commercial artery, several people witnessed it despite the time.
People were on the terrace of the nearby Saint-Houblon microbrewery, among other places, and started screaming when they heard the detonations. The cook headed for the crime scene, while a bartender rushed to dial 911.
“When I finish late at night, maybe I’ll take a taxi now,” said an employee who preferred to remain anonymous.
Several antecedents
Two individuals have also been arrested in connection with this latest shooting.
Jordance Jean, 34, and Joseph Jean-Louis, 47, briefly appeared by videoconference at the Montreal courthouse.
Looking annoyed, Jean-Louis asked “to see the video images”, without specifying what he was referring to. Jean, for his part, did not say a word. His lawyer, however, looked surprised that he was only charged with possession of drugs and possession of weapons.
“There are surely new charges that will come,” however, said the Crown.
As the prosecution opposed their release on bail, they will remain detained for the time being.
The duo has an impressive criminal past, mainly for assault files.
Joseph Jean-Louis was notably sentenced to five years in prison in 2019 for having stabbed two sex workers a few years earlier.
The four shootings in the night
Photo QMI Agency, Pascal Girard
Around 20h
Roseraies Primary School, Anjou
Photo QMI Agency, Pascal Girard
Around midnight
Place Émilie-Gamelin, downtown
Photo QMI Agency, Pascal Girard
Around 12:30 a.m.
Louisiana Park, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie
Photo QMI Agency, Pascal Girard
Around 2 a.m.
Saint-Denis and De Maisonneuve East, downtown
Several public buildings hit by gunfire
The stray bullet that hit an elementary school, a first since shootings began in the Montreal area according to our research, was only the most recent incident where a public building has been hit by gunfire since the start of 2021. some examples :
September 2022 Explosions sounded near an arena in the east of the metropolis;
May 2022 The front of a disused daycare center was riddled with bullets in Rivière-des-Prairies;
April 2022 A projectile pierced the window of a library in Anjou;
September 2021 An attempted murder occurred near daycare centers in Saint-Michel;
March 2021 A stray bullet shattered the window of the Pierre-Boucher hospital in Longueuil.