Two young men were reportedly kidnapped in Montreal by members of a street gang from Anjou, before being taken to Toronto, where they were tortured, beaten and humiliated at gunpoint.
In the last hours, the abominable images of the atrocities that were inflicted on the two 19-year-old victims began to circulate on social networks.
We see in particular the two men lying on a mattress stained with blood, with the word “Anjou” engraved in the skin of the back using a knife.
At a certain point, the mutilated back of one of the victims is set on fire with a liquid, causing him to squirm in pain.
Later, we see an individual strike a violent blow with the butt of a pistol to the head of one of the men, who takes the shock without flinching.
The two young men were also forced to engage in degrading acts of a sexual nature while the suspects filmed them.
“Snitches”
According to criminal sources, these barbaric acts were inflicted on the two young men to punish them for being “snitches” [mouchards]. They are believed by gang members to have provided sensitive information to a rival gang in Saint-Léonard.
The Montreal police, however, did not confirm this information.
Also according to our sources, the abuse inflicted on the two men took place in mid-February, in a building in Toronto.
The two victims were found on February 16 by the police. They were then heavily intoxicated by drugs and seriously injured.
The two young men have no criminal record, according to our information.
One of them had been reported missing from Laval on February 14.
Asked about this event that strikes the imagination, the Toronto police did not want to comment.
“An investigation is underway in this case and we will not provide any additional information so as not to interfere with the process,” said Constable Laura Brabant, spokesperson for the Toronto police, in a terse email.
The images of this savage attack were quickly reported to the Montreal authorities by many Internet users.
The SPVM has confirmed that it is collaborating with the Toronto police in the context of this investigation.
“Yes, I saw the images and I was really shocked and disturbed by what I saw,” admitted Hélène Mercier, commander of neighborhood station 46 (Anjou), in a telephone interview.
An escalating conflict
The borough of Anjou is currently a particularly “hot” sector in the metropolis. A conflict between two cliques from Saint-Léonard and Anjou has for some time given rise to several events of armed violence. This portends a particularly busy summer for police officers in the northeast of the city.
“In the last few weeks, we feel a tension and we feel a resurgence of violence. I am in collaboration with the commander of the Saint-Léonard neighborhood station, we talk to each other every day, ”said Ms. Mercier.
A sign that street gangs have succeeded in creating a climate of fear in the area, very few victims or witnesses are inclined to collaborate with the police.
Despite everything, the commander ensures that the various investigations into the recent violent events are progressing.
“There are ongoing investigations, there are things I cannot say, but things are progressing well,” he said.
On March 19, Khaled Mouloudj was murdered in the middle of the street in the borough of Anjou, while he was near his home.
Last Thursday, hooded suspects drove to Anjou secondary school at lunchtime, before pointing a gun at some students.
– with the collaboration of Laurent Lavoie, Journal de Montréal