A party in an apartment building in Montreal completely degenerated overnight from Saturday to Sunday, when a fight involving at least one sharp object broke out, leaving three people injured and forcing the evacuation of around a hundred people.
It was around 4 a.m. that police officers from the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) intervened in this conflict involving around twenty people in front of the building located on Crépeau Street.
VAT NEWS
The affair took place in the context of a party between several people who knew each other.
After tempers got heated, an altercation left three people aged 19, 26 and 40 years old injured, police said. However, they were out of danger early Sunday evening. According to information collected by investigators, the tragedy is not linked to drug trafficking or even organized crime.
Pascal Girard/AGENCE QMI
One of the victims had wounds in the back, inflicted by a sharp object, “possibly a knife,” according to Sabrina Gauthier, spokesperson for the SPVM.
At the same time, in a chaotic atmosphere, around a hundred people who were in the apartment building had to be evacuated due to a manually activated fire alarm.
Some of them told Newspaper having been suddenly awakened by screams or the sound of the alarm.
“It freaked me out.”
On site, the language barrier gave the police a hard time trying to understand the circumstances of the conflict.
“They were shouting, throwing insults at each other in Spanish. It freaked me out. I didn’t know what was happening,” said Michael Torentino, 34, a tenant on the ground floor.
Michael Torentino, resident of the building.
Photo Olivier Faucher
He and his girlfriend wondered if they should go out because of the alarm, or stay confined to their apartment to stay away from the fight.
“You don’t know what could happen at that moment. We were afraid of taking a stray bullet.”
Another resident, who insisted on remaining anonymous, heard “very loud” screams coming directly from the front of his apartment door.
“For about ten minutes, I heard people shouting and moving in the building. Afterwards, the police arrived and we had to get out. It was a little scary.”
Photo Olivier Faucher
Four arrests
On Sunday evening, there were a total of four arrests for attempted murder, said spokesperson Véronique Dubuc.
They are three men aged 21, 26 and 28 as well as a 20 year old woman. The suspects, who are due to appear in court on Monday, are said to have no criminal records.
A large security perimeter was erected around the scene to allow operations to run smoothly.
-With the collaboration of Laurent Lavoie, Agence QMI and TVA Nouvelles