For many months, violence in Montreal has peaked. Whether by stabbing or firearm, many people have perished as a result of armed violence in several sectors of the metropolis. This very sad phenomenon is a phenomenon that we observed in certain “hot” districts of Montreal and it was attributed to criminal groups. Last June, I addressed the issue of violence in Montreal in the text “How can we prevent Montreal from becoming a real Wild West?“.
At that time, 10 homicides were recorded on the territory of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). At the time of writing these lines, 31 homicides have been recorded in Montreal.
Young collateral victims
Last February, the 15-year-old teenager Meriem Boundaoui lost her life following a shooting in the district of Saint-Léonard. Meriem was an uneventful little teenager who had arrived in Quebec two years earlier. Everything suggests that this uneventful teenager was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Before this sad murder, in January, a 17-year-old teenager was shot and wounded in the Saint-Michel district. Last July, two 17-year-olds were victims of an attempted murder in the Saint-Michel district. Several other young people between the ages of 18 and 30 were victims, sometimes even risking their lives. In connection with the teenagers victims of violence, last month, it is the young Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, aged 16, who lost his life after being stabbed a few meters from his school in the district of Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
Another 16-year-old has been arrested in connection with the murder. On the evening of November 14, Thomas Trudel, a 16-year-old teenager, returned home to the Saint-Michel district after an outing to the park. He was shot and died on the spot. Police say they are working hard to find the suspect behind this “free” murder.
Take action!
These three young teenagers did not deserve to die. They had their whole lives ahead of them, but were cruelly murdered. Entire families and young teens mourn the death of these three young people who left too soon. It is obvious that the circulation of firearms claims innocent victims and that it is a worrying phenomenon for Montreal families.
Although the issue of public safety was discussed at length during the municipal elections, now elected officials who are about to take the oath will have to look at solutions combining prevention and safety with young people, in order to avoid harm. other tragedies in the districts of the metropolis. In the past, we imagined violence in small dark alleys, but today we see that the reality of armed violence is found in our neighborhoods, in our schoolyards, and that no one is immune. of this rise in gun violence.
Sacha-Wilky Merazil, student in immigration and interethnic relations