A 77-year-old man was the subject of an attempted murder in broad daylight in Laval on Sunday while he was in the parking lot of a busy business on boulevard des Laurentides. His vehicle was riddled with gunshot.
If Sunday often rhymes with shopping, Laval residents had a very different – and traumatic – experience this week.
Around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, a 77-year-old man was the subject of an attempted murder in the parking lot of a branch of the Société des alcools (SAQ) located at the corner of boulevard des Laurentides and rue of the Lacasses, in Laval.
His car, a blue Nissan, was hit by multiple bullets. The vehicle, which could still be seen parked on site at the start of the evening on Sunday within the perimeter established by the police, was directly in front of the business. However, the building was not hit by the gunfire. No passers-by were injured.
The targeted man was in his car at the time, according to our information. He was hit in the leg by more than one projectile and taken to hospital. However, his life is not in danger, said Stéphanie Béchara, spokesperson for the Laval police department.
Although he was directly targeted, the septuagenarian is not known to the police and has no criminal history, she underlines.
Several people on site witnessed the scene and will be interviewed for investigation purposes.
“An investigation has been opened for attempted murder. We have erected a security perimeter in the parking lot, so for the moment, we are asking people to avoid the area, ”recommends the spokesperson.
A busy area
The SAQ Sélection is located in a commercial and busy sector of Laval. On the other side of avenue des Laurentides is a grocery store from the Metro chain. The surrounding area is full of restaurants, pastry shops, mechanics and other businesses.
Several of them could have cameras, which will be viewed by the police.
“It is sure that it is not pleasant, but they were not shots in the air, relativizes a neighbor met by The Press. It is sure that it was someone targeted, so that worries me a little less. »
Despite everything, gunshots in broad daylight, in this sector of Laval, are surprising. “It’s always calm here, there’s never a problem,” said the neighbor.
“I’ve lived in this house for 35 years and I’ve never seen this,” adds a father who lives near the SAQ.
His neighbor across the street, Donald Duguay, also owner of Laval Trailer Attachments, an adjacent business, prefers to think that these shots do not put the general population at risk. “I wasn’t there when it happened,” he explains, taking a break from shoveling his driveway. But it’s probably related to the mafia, or something like that. »
A little further, behind his snowblower, another neighbor blames street gangs. “The police should put on their pants and do their jobs, not just after the events,” he denounces.
More guns
Last June, less than two kilometers from the scene, Bernard Cherfan, 42, was killed by at least one bullet in the head while he was eating soup, seated at the restaurant La Perle vietnamienne, on boulevard des Laurentides .
The murder, which occurred at 7:25 p.m., was committed in front of several stunned customers, including children. Quickly, the Laval police had transferred the investigation to the SQ since the murder would have been committed in a context of organized crime.
According to our information, Bernard Cherfan was considered a member of the Lebanese underworld and close to the Frenn brothers and the Saoumaa brothers, would have maintained links with several high-level criminal organizations, including the Sicilian clan of the Montreal mafia and the one that the police still considers its chief, Stefano Sollecito. A 25-year-old Ontario resident, Britney Lewis, was arrested shortly after by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
A priori, there would be no link between the two events, supports Stéphanie Béchara.
In April 2021, a 19-year-old young man was also the subject of an attempted murder in broad daylight in a residential area about two kilometers away, on Bellerose Boulevard East.
With Daniel Renaud, The Press