Sixteen months had passed between the murder of the teenager Meriem Boundaoui and the arrest of a first suspect in this case on Monday. But now less than 48 hours later, five other people have been arrested, including the second main suspect in this investigation.
Following this crackdown, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) can now say that the two people who participated “directly and actively” in the murder have been arrested. The police force hopes that the family will be able to find some form of comfort there.
The 15-year-old was killed early in the evening on Sunday, February 7, 2021, when she found herself in the middle of a shooting involving two groups with whom she had no connection.
“Criminal investigations are long and complex, but our personnel always remain determined and end up identifying and collecting the evidence to arrest those responsible,” said SPVM acting director Sophie Roy during a briefing. press organized in the borough of Saint-Léonard, Wednesday afternoon.
The man arrested the same morning is 27 years old. He was at the time of the murder in the same vehicle as 26-year-old Salim Touaibi, who was arrested on Monday.
It was in this vehicle that the two men, on the evening of February 7, 2021, started an argument with people on the sidewalk. Shots were then fired.
Between the two groups were Meriem Boundaoui and one of his friends, parked in another car. Hit by bullet, the teenager died a few hours later.
“I wanted to be here today to congratulate the SPVM and all those who worked on this case, that of Meriem Boundaoui, who is an innocent victim of this increase in armed violence,” said the Mayor of Montreal. , Valerie Plante.
In order not to interfere with the judicial process, the SPVM did not specify which of Salim Touaibi or the other suspect opened fire on the young girl.
Rapid developments
Salim Touaibi was charged Monday at the Montreal courthouse in connection with the murder of the teenager. He had already been detained in a provincial center since March in connection with another case of violence and possession of a firearm.
The next day, SPVM agents combed a wooded area in the Pointe-aux-Trembles district, east of the city, in the hope of finding clues in this file, including the murder weapon.
The weapon was ultimately not found, but another police operation, this time Wednesday morning, resulted in the arrest of the second main suspect in this investigation, in addition to four other persons of interest. They are men between the ages of 22 and 27 who were arrested on charges ranging from drug trafficking to assault with bodily harm.
According to the SPVM, the shooting that claimed the life of Meriem Boundaoui was the culmination of an argument that had begun earlier between two groups.