A 24-year-old young man was “kidnapped and physically assaulted on several occasions” between Monday and Tuesday, in Sherbrooke. Three suspects who allegedly “beaten”, strangled and injured him with a knife were arrested by the authorities, who opened an investigation into this horror story.
It is Tuesday around 4 pm, on rue du Fédéral, that the Service de police de Sherbrooke (SPS) says it has arrested individuals after receiving “a call for a man who was allegedly beaten by three individuals”.
“In fact, the victim would have been kidnapped and physically assaulted on several occasions by the three suspects, and this for nearly 24 hours since December 20, 2021 in the afternoon”, summarize the Sherbrooke investigators in a press release released on Wednesday morning.
During this period, the victim was also said to have been “severely beaten in the body and face, strangled, threatened and then injured with a knife”.
The suspects also “put and camouflaged a dog leash around the victim’s neck to keep control over him,” notes the police force in its statement. They “thus took him to the Carrefour de l’Estrie then to the Galeries Quatre-Saisons, still under duress and threats, to try to make transactions through the victim”, also relate the authorities.
A trader plays the heroes
When making a transaction, away from his attackers, the victim however “managed to report his situation to a merchant”. In shock, the latter then “immediately took charge of the victim and contacted 911”. When the police arrived, the suspects had already left the scene. “A story of money debt would be the motive for the crime,” according to the SPS.
Two suspects were finally arrested on Tuesday in Sherbrooke, while a third was arrested in the evening in the Lac-Mégantic sector. The three men, “well known” to the police, were questioned and should appear at the Sherbrooke courthouse on Wednesday.
They all face charges of conspiracy, forcible confinement, extortion, assault with a weapon, robbery and assault with bodily harm.