Man shot dead in Laval | A neighborhood in shock

A residential area of ​​Laval was still in shock on Saturday afternoon, the day after the death of a man in his thirties, hit by several projectiles from firearms in the Saint-François sector.

Mayssa Ferah
The Press

Delphine Belzile
The Press

The agents of the Service de police de Laval (SPL) were called on Friday around 11:20 p.m., after receiving several calls reporting detonations on rue du Canada, in the Saint-François sector in Laval.

A young man was surprised by the numerous gunshots on Friday evening when he was out smoking in his yard with his friend, who immediately called the police. “It was really like a machine gun sound,” he says. He remembers hearing someone yell, “That’s my brother, that’s my brother,” before the victim cried out in pain. The young man has lived in Saint-François for several years, and has never witnessed such an incident, he specifies. “This is the first time that we have really seen a shooting. »

At the scene, authorities found a man with gunshot wounds while in his black Jeep Cherokee. He died on the spot despite several attempts at resuscitation. According to our information, the victim is Stéphane Risler Achille, a 31-year-old man. He was sitting alone in his vehicle and was the target of at least a dozen bullets, our sources report.

The alleged shooter(s) were in a car and were driving near the victim, before fleeing. There were no arrests in this case at the time of this writing.

Concerned residents

The residential area of ​​​​Saint-François was rather quiet on Saturday afternoon, the day after the shooting homicide which continued to sow concern in the neighborhood. According to residents, the victim was killed in front of his home, a recent condominium at the end of rue du Canada.

A woman, who has lived in this same building for a year, suspects that “shady” activities have been taking place in her apartment for some time. She noticed a “coming and going” of people using drugs in the establishment. “It’s not reassuring,” worries the lady.

Same scenario for a father, in his car with his son, who finds the shooting that occurred near his residence worrying. “We didn’t expect that,” he says.

“I’ve been here for two years, and I’ve never seen anything. There, it’s a little worrying, ”laments Cynthia, who occupies a neighboring apartment. She was on her balcony on Friday evening when many police officers flocked to the crime scene. “It seems like a settling of scores to me,” she says.

Known in the narcotics world

A security perimeter has been established to conduct the investigation. The dog handler and forensic identification went to the scene on Saturday morning. Witnesses to the murder also met with investigators, said agent Stephanie Beshara, spokeswoman for the SPL.

Stéphane Risler Achille did not have a heavy criminal record. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to drug possession charges.

According to police information, the victim is a drug dealer and pimp. The deceased was not part of a criminal organization, but he had already been seen in the presence of members of a street gang in the area.

The murder of Stéphane Risler Achille is the fourth homicide by firearm on the territory of the SPL, bringing to six the total number of homicides committed in Laval since the beginning of the year, underlines Stéphanie Beshara.

With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud, The Press