The Laval resident suspected of having committed three murders in greater Montreal since Tuesday evening was surrounded by police forces since the middle of the night from Wednesday to yesterday, around the Motel Pierre, where he was shot dead in the following hours. The newspaper traces the thread of events that led to the intense hunt for the alleged serial killer, 26-year-old Abdulla Shaikh.
• Read also: Montreal murder streak: Suspect was free even though he could be dangerous
• Read also: Serial murders: suspect’s family claims innocence
• Read also: The conditions of release would have to be reviewed
1. TUESDAY AUGUST 2
Photo QMI Agency, Pascal Girard
9:45 p.m.: The suspect allegedly committed his first murder by shooting down André Fernand Lemieux, father of boxer David Lemieux. The 64-year-old man was in a bus shelter on boulevard Jules-Poitras, in the borough of Saint-Laurent in Montreal.
2. TUESDAY AUGUST 2
Photo QMI Agency, Pascal Girard
10:50 p.m.: A little over an hour later, he would have reoffended, fatally hitting Mohamed Salah Belhaj, 48 years old. The events took place this time in Saint-Benoît Park, in the Ahuntsic district of Montreal, about 3 km from the first victim.
3. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3
Photo QMI Agency, Pascal Girard
Unknown time: The Montreal police are on their toes and on the heels of the suspect. They are then looking for a white Dodge Challenger. At some point, they manage to tail a car that matches this description. According to our information, however, it was the wrong vehicle at the time.
9:30 p.m.: Still bloodthirsty, the suspect would have again acted out, in Laval. A young man of 22, Alex Lévis-Crevier, falls under the bullets of the shooter, on the 1st Street.
Unknown time: The police realize shortly after this third murder that they are not following the right white Dodge Challenger vehicle, they redouble their efforts to get their hands on the collar of the real suspect.
4. THURSDAY AUGUST 4
Photo QMI Agency, Maxime Deland
Shortly before 12:30 a.m.: The suspect arrives at the Motel Pierre, on boulevard Marcel-Laurin in the borough of Saint-Laurent. It enters the parking lot from rue Grenet. He is seen driving erratically and failing to stop. He is driving the famous white Dodge Challenger. He parks near the Tim Hortons.
He gets out of his car, starts looking around. After 2 minutes, he returns to his car to smoke a cigarette.
The individual is alone and lowers his head. Then he heads for the motel, he has nothing visible in his hands. He is described as a swarthy suspect with long hair and wearing a black sweater.
Between 12:40 a.m. and 12:45 a.m.: While wanting to get a report for a stolen vehicle, an officer from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) accidentally noticed the presence of a white Dodge Challenger in the parking lot.
The policeman calls for reinforcements, in order to be able to carry out checks.
During the night: About thirty police officers take position around the hotel all night while waiting to properly plan the intervention with the tactical intervention group (GTI) of the Montreal police. The suspect is then identified. A perimeter is erected in the quadrilateral of Marcel-Laurin and Henri-Bourassa boulevards as well as Grenet and Poirier streets.
Very close to the hotel, there is a Service Canada office for passports, where about fifteen people lined up in the middle of the night under a marquee. They had to be evacuated.
5:30 a.m.: The GTI arrives at the Motel Pierre and the police begin their preparations.
7 a.m.: The GTI police officers break down the door of the place where the suspect is holed up. They are then confronted by Abdulla Shaikh, in possession of a firearm.
The 26-year-old man allegedly fired twice at the officers, according to our information. He was then shot by at least two bullets in the head and his death was declared at the scene.
The police then believe that they have neutralized the individual who would be the author of the three homicides that occurred in Montreal and Laval.
12:10 p.m.: Police officers from the Sûreté du Québec came to the Shaikh family home in Laval to tell them the news. The latter refuse to believe that he is the author of the murders.