Two murders were perpetrated in broad daylight, half an hour apart, Tuesday afternoon in Montreal. A 44-year-old man was first hit by a gunshot in the parking lot of the Rockland shopping center, then a second in his fifties, in a restaurant on Ontario Street.
Posted at 2:12 p.m.
Updated at 6:09 p.m.
According to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), the first victim was shot at around 12:55 p.m. in the parking lot of the shopping center, located on Rockland Road, near Brittany Avenue, in Mont -Royal.
They were several to do their shopping Tuesday afternoon at the Rockland center, despite the events. On site, most had no knowledge of anything while the shots took place in the parking lot outside the mall. A security perimeter, which runs along Sloane Avenue in Town of Mount-Royal, prevents many people from leaving the premises with their vehicle. The wait could stretch until tomorrow.
The 44-year-old man, injured by gunshot wounds, succumbed to his injuries, sources confirmed to The Press.
According to our information, it is Maxime Lenoir, an individual connected to the bikers. In June 2020, his residence in Terrebonne had been raided by investigators from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) as part of an investigation which had led to the dismantling in Danville in Estrie of one of the largest clandestine laboratories for the manufacture of methamphetamines ever discovered in the province.
However, Lenoir had not been arrested in connection with the dismantling of the laboratory. He had no criminal history in Quebec, according to our research. The deceased would have had links with a clan of the Montreal mafia and with certain members of the Hells Angels of the Montreal section. He was also suspected by the police of being involved in cocaine imports and fraud.
At the level of the importation of cocaine, Lenoir would have had established contacts in South America and was considered by the police as an independent. In March 2017, a small plane stuffed with 130 kilograms of cocaine, piloted by two Quebecers, had landed in Ohio, in the United States.
A month later, an investigator from the Organized Crime Division of the SPVM told the court that one of the suspects behind this import – brothers considered by the police to be part of the organized crime of the Near Middle East (PMO) —, had met Maxime Lenoir in Laval.
The witness added that Lenoir had already been arrested in the past for having transported cocaine and that he would have managed a route between the southern countries and Canada. According to reports, a debt caused by an import that failed in the United States could be one of the hypotheses behind Lenoir’s murder.
A second murder
About 30 minutes later, another man was shot on Saint-Denis, in the center-south of the metropolis. Diego Fiorita, 50, was seated at the Pizzeria Napoli restaurant during the attack. According to our information, this second victim also succumbed to his injuries.
He had survived an attempted murder in January 2020 in the Ahuntsic district, in Montreal, in connection with a history of loan sharking and debts, according to our sources.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Corner of Saint-Denis and Émery streets
A population to reassure
The Montreal police will be “hard at work in the affected areas to reassure citizens,” assured the office of the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, on Tuesday. As is often the case during violent events, the SPVM will have security brigades in the centre-south and in Mount Royal, to answer questions from the population. “All the necessary resources are in place to shed light on these crimes,” promised Mr.me Plant in a tweet.
Within the entourage of M.me Plante, we reiterate that the mayor intends to make public safety a central issue in the provincial campaign this fall. The City wants to see the leaders of the main political parties position themselves “very loud and clear” on the issue of weapons and their circulation.
“Today’s violent events are unacceptable. I went to meet the merchants on rue Saint-Denis to assure them that the SPVM is hard at work conducting the investigation and finding the criminals involved,” added Ms.me Plante on his Facebook page, praising the “excellent work” of Montreal police officers.
From Quebec, the Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, also spoke with the mayor in the afternoon. “We understand the concern of citizens. As always, our officers will be working day and night to catch the criminals involved,” she said.
For the official opposition, however, Montreal will have to change its approach. “If the administration of [Valérie Plante] took the issue of public safety really seriously, she would give the SPVM the necessary resources. […] This administration must demonstrate that its priority is the tranquility of citizens,” said public security critic Abdelhaq Sari. The latter also had the municipal council adopt a motion on Tuesday forcing the City to adopt a social network brigade at the SPVM “as soon as possible”, in order to monitor the purchase and sale of weapons online.
The whole thing comes as Monday, in a letter sent to the mayor, the Fraternity of police officers and policewomen of Montreal (FPPM) had argued that there are 72 fewer police officers at the SPVM than in November 2021, when Mr.me Plante had pledged to hire 250 additional police officers within a year. The mayor responded by saying that there had been 229 police hires since November 2021.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.