The night from Monday to Tuesday was very tumultuous for the Montreal police, who were called to the scene of four events where shots were fired. Calling the spike in shootings “disturbing” and “unacceptable,” Mayor Valérie Plante called on the federal and provincial governments to do more to address gun violence.
The most recent event occurred around 2 a.m. Tuesday morning in the Ville-Marie borough, where two men were injured.
It was a 911 call that reported that shots had been fired on rue Saint-Denis, near boulevard de Maisonneuve Est. When they arrived, the police discovered two men with gunshot wounds: one aged 32, shot in the upper body; the other, aged 26, was injured in the lower body. They were taken to hospital, where their condition was described as stable.
“Two arrests have been made. We are talking about a 47-year-old man and a second 34-year-old man, both known to our police department. The relationship between the suspects and the victims has not yet been determined,” said Constable Gabriella Youakim, spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
The SPVM police officers had gone a few blocks away a little earlier, around midnight, where gunshots had been heard at Place Émilie-Gamelin. “Once on the scene, the police located a victim with gunshot wounds to the upper body. According to the first information collected from witnesses, at least one suspect would have fired on the victim before fleeing,” said agent Youakim. The victim is a 38-year-old man. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition, but his condition has stabilized. No one has been arrested.
The police also received a call about other shots around 12:30 a.m., this time near a park on 31e Avenue, not far from rue Beaubien Est, in the borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie. “Once at the scene, the police located several projectile impacts on a parked vehicle. They also find several casings on the ground. For the moment, no victim has been located or has come forward,” said the SPVM spokesperson.
Shots were also fired around 8 p.m. Monday on the grounds of the Roseraies school, in the borough of Anjou. When the police arrived, the shooters had left the scene and no arrests could be made.
Worry
“This is extremely disturbing and unacceptable. I understand parents being worried,” Valérie Plante said on Tuesday. According to her, however, the City and the SPVM have not lost control of the situation, although the rate of shootings does not seem to want to calm down on the territory. “Removing weapons from our streets, that’s what our police officers are doing right now,” said the mayor.
However, it criticizes the federal government for not sufficiently controlling the circulation of weapons. “What does he do so that these weapons do not end up in the hands of our young people? […] I do not control the weapons that enter the country, the illegal weapons that circulate. It is absolutely necessary to look into this question, ”she said.
“It’s a marathon. We would like to have a solution right away and for everything to stop, but we know that there are initiatives that will take more time, including the work we do with young people, ”she said, however. agreed.
Montreal must also unveil on Wednesday a program aimed at securing the surroundings of schools and strengthening communication between young people, the SPVM and school administrators.
The opposition to City Hall judges that the Plante administration lacks initiative in the issue of armed violence. “The number of armed violence events occurring each week in Montreal speaks for itself. We have been calling for strong and concrete actions from the Plante administration for a year and a half. When measures are finally announced, it finally boils down to undressing Pierre to dress Paul. Montrealers need a vocal administration that takes this issue to heart,” said Councilor Abdelhaq Sari, spokesperson for Ensemble Montréal in terms of public safety. “It takes an administration that shows real leadership rather than governing through social media. »
With The Canadian Press