The murder of young Meriem Boundaoui, which shocked all of Quebec in February 2021 in Montreal, is the culmination of a slow escalation of conflicting events between two families of merchants on Jean-Talon Street.
This is revealed by certain details of the evidence contained in a motion filed in court, but which can only be partially disclosed due to a publication ban.
Recall that two individuals, Aymane Bouadi and Salim Touaibi, are accused of the premeditated murder of the 15-year-old girl and the attempted murder of four young people who were standing near her, on the evening of February 7, 2021, at the corner rue Jean-Talon and rue Valdombre, in the borough of Saint-Léonard.
The names of the two families who own the businesses, a hair salon and a grocery store, are covered by the publication ban. Each has several members.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Meriem Boundaoui was a passenger in this car when she was hit by one of the projectiles.
Parking chicane
The following details are contained in the motion filed by the prosecution, but have not yet been proven in court.
In the months preceding the tragedy, during the year 2020, the owner of the grocery store began to complain to the owner of the hairdressing salon that the latter’s customers parked on the grounds of his business.
At this time, the relationship between the two families was still cordial, but it soured when a member of one of the families and a member of the other began to argue.
In January 2021, the same two people in conflict crossed paths during a trip to the South. One of the defendants, Aymane Bouadi, accompanied one of the two and allegedly threatened the other.
At the beginning of February 2021, other altercations arose between the same two members of the two families and on February 6, one called the other to an appointment, to settle the conflict.
But when the second arrived at the place where the first had summoned him, he was violently attacked by several individuals, including Touaibi.
On the same day, a family member of the person who had just been attacked went to the grocery store of the other family and committed misdeeds there. In the evening, two of the hair salon owner’s family members attacked a member of the other family.
Around 6:50 p.m., still the same day, an unknown person called one of the family members who own the hair salon to make an appointment.
Another call followed, on FaceTime this time, and the same person who had received the first call took a screenshot of his interlocutor: according to the investigation, it is Salim Touaibi.
“We’re going to put one in your head, blow up the white Golf parked downstairs, roll down the living room window and burn everything inside if you don’t come and join us,” said this interlocutor.
“I’m fixing this”
The next day, February 7, the same family member of the owner of the barbershop received a call from a blocked number from the same individual who told him “to come and see him if he is a man”.
Later, a new meeting to settle the conflict was scheduled.
At approximately 5:50 p.m., the family member who owns the hair salon received a call from the individual who had called him the day before. The latter offered him to come and fight in front of the Yaniso hairdressing salon, but the other invited him instead to join him at the corner of Jean-Talon and Valdombre streets.
” I’m coming live “, replied the individual.
At 5:54 p.m., one of the family members who own the grocery store received a call from a phone associated with Salim Touaibi and told him “not to do anything”, that he was “in the process of fix it”.
At the same time, friends of the family members who own the hairdressing salon showed up at the corner of rue Jean-Talon and rue Valdombre.
Around 6:03 p.m., a Mercedes C300 came to a stop near the group. The driver asked one of the youngsters if he was “Yaniso’s guy”. The young man replied: “Yes. »
At that moment, one of the two occupants of the Mercedes pulled out a handgun and fired five shots at the group, fatally hitting Meriem Boundaoui in the head, who was sitting in the car of one of the friends who arrived on the scene. places.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVES
Rally to mark the anniversary of the death of Meriem Boundaoui, in February 2022
Vehicle found six days later
The suspects immediately fled north on rue Valdombre.
We learn in the request that as early as February 12, six days later, investigators from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal had already identified and located the Mercedes.
They found a casing inside and compared it with two others found at the scene: all the shots were fired from the same weapon.
The sleuths also analyzed the vehicle’s GPS and computer for the period from January 23 to February 7, 2021.
They found that the Mercedes traveled regularly near Touaibi’s residence, as well as other locations, at times relevant to the investigation.
Investigators were even able to track when the vehicle’s driver’s side and front passenger’s side doors opened and closed, examine the location and route of the Mercedes, determine the communications towers it passed, and found , thanks to this analysis, surveillance cameras that filmed Touaibi.
The telephone records of the defendants were also analyzed.
The case has been adjourned to March 8.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.