The office of Émile Benamor, owner of the Old Montreal building ravaged by an arson last week, was riddled with bullets during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. Three suspects were quickly arrested by police in connection with the shootings.
This attack comes less than a week after the death of a mother and her seven-year-old daughter in a fire in Mr. Benamor’s building on rue Notre-Dame.
The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) confirms having received several calls to 9-1-1 for gunshots around 11:50 p.m. Arriving in front of the office of Émile Benamor, on rue Berri near the rue Saint-Antoine, the police noted around twenty projectile impacts on the facade.
A small white truck fled the scene, according to Véronique Dubuc, spokesperson for the SPVM. Patrol officers first tried to intercept him, at the corner of René-Lévesque Boulevard and Sanguinet Street, but the driver took off and fled. The police finally managed to intercept him, at the corner of avenue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville and rue de Boisbriand.
“Three men aged 17, 19 and 20 were arrested,” the spokesperson said.
“A firearm was found in the vehicle,” she adds.
In the afternoon, the two major defendants appeared at the Montreal courthouse. They are Rayann Olsen Kimbatsa, from Montreal, and Michel Manueli Likeng Mbappe, 19, both from Montreal. They are accused of discharging a firearm in a dangerous manner, illegal possession of the Glock pistol and a high-capacity magazine and possession of a stolen vehicle.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Investigators were on scene collecting evidence Wednesday morning. Mr. Benamor had already found himself in the spotlight in 2023 when another of his buildings burned down due to arson. The event left seven dead and nine injured.
Extortion
The Press revealed that the favored theory to explain last week’s arson is an extortion maneuver against a restaurateur who rented premises on the ground floor of Mr. Benamor’s building. Three criminal groups are currently competing to impose a protection tax on downtown establishments.
Read the article “The extortion theory is favored by the authorities”
Read the article “Victims of an extortion war? »
Mr. Benamor’s lawyer, Mr.e Alexandre Bergevin, assured The Press that his client has never been a victim of extortion and that he does not know who may have targeted his office. According to our information, the theory favored both in criminal and police circles is that these shots are intended to create a diversion and divert the attention of the group which would try to extort the restaurateur.
Émile Benamor is also the owner of the building on Place d’Youville, in Old Montreal, also targeted by an arson which led to the death of seven people in March 2023.
No one has yet been charged in connection with these two fatal fires.
SPVM investigators concluded their investigation last June for the 2023 tragedy and handed over their file to prosecutors from the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), who must now take a position on the filing of criminal charges.
In the case of last Friday’s fire on Notre-Dame Street, no one was arrested, but the building’s surveillance cameras show a hooded individual who appears to throw a Molotov cocktail into the window of the restaurant located on ground floor, just before the place caught fire.
According to several police sources, it is the Arab Power organization which could be at the origin of this crime. This group would take advantage of the debt of traders and restaurateurs caused by the pandemic to carry out extortion, players in the restaurant sector said with concern. Several businesses have been targeted by criminal acts.
At a press briefing on Wednesday, the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, said she was “shocked” by these events, but “reassured” by the presence of SPVM police officers on the ground.
“When the criminals change, the SPVM adapts,” she stressed. I look forward to developments on both fires and the events of last night. »
“An exemplary citizen”
In an interview on Tuesday, before the gunshots targeting Mr. Benamor’s office, his lawyer affirmed that the owner was not targeted by the arsonists who set fire to two of his buildings, and that he has nothing to blame itself for the security of its buildings, despite the death of nine people.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Emile Benamor
“He is an exemplary citizen, who systematically corrected the non-compliances that were reported to him,” maintains M.e Bergevin.
“It’s just an unfortunate coincidence” that two of his buildings burned due to arson, he assures. For the Place d’Youville building, “we were victims of a sociopath,” adds the lawyer.
He affirms that Émile Benamor does not fear being accused of criminal negligence in connection with these tragedies.
The owner was criticized in particular because of the presence of apartments without windows in his two buildings.
After the disastrous fire at Place d’Youville in 2023, the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) found several security flaws in Émile Benamor’s building on Notre-Dame Street, which housed a youth hostel of 20 rooms, Le 402. We particularly deplored the absence of smoke alarms and an alarm system, but these problems were subsequently resolved, confirmed the SIM.
The owner also received tickets in August 2023 for violations in another of his buildings, on Prince Street, in Old Montreal.
The building also houses a youth hostel, the Chambres du petit prince, which has 27 units, opened last August and operated by the same two owners as the one on rue Notre-Dame, Neir Abissidan and Robert Sebbag.
Me Bergevin explains that the building was empty when the SIM issued its infraction reports. The owner was waiting for his permit from the City of Montreal to carry out transformation work in preparation for the opening of the inn.
He insisted on showing the places to The Press to show that all safety standards were respected and that there was an employee at reception, as required by municipal regulations.