An 18-year-old young man died after being riddled with bullets during a private rally the night of Thursday to Friday, in the Mont-Royal area. This is the 36e homicide to occur on the island of Montreal since the beginning of the year.
The death of Stenley Guercin, 18, was indeed found in a hospital on Friday. His identity was confirmed at Press by police sources. “It’s the 36e homicide that has been recorded this year, ”said agent Manuel Couture, spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
Several investigators were still at the scene at the end of the morning. “There are several people to meet, it’s a fairly long process. Once they have met everyone, they will be able to go inside, so they will have it for a good part of the day, ”said Mr. Couture.
At around 1:45 a.m., Thursday to Friday night, emergency services and police received a call to report a gunshot wounded person in the residence on Trenton Avenue, located just off Aberdare Road. .
Upon their arrival, the Montreal police say they located the young man, who was then “unconscious and injured in the upper body by more than one projectile from a firearm”. He was quickly taken to hospital. Until late morning Friday, his condition was deemed “critical” and he was still fighting for his life. His death was finally confirmed by a doctor.
“I didn’t believe it was true”
“At first, I didn’t believe it was true,” told Press a childhood friend of 13-year-old Stenley who cannot be named. “When I was called, I was told all that, there I started a shock. I panicked, ”the teenager continued.
He keeps good memories with the victim. “We always played video games together,” he said.
Messages of sympathy rocketed on social networks in memory of Stenley Guercin, nicknamed OB (for “O’Black”) by his friends. The young man, who lived in the borough of Anjou in Montreal, had recently moved to Repentigny.
“R. i. p my Stanley thank you for always being there when I needed you you protect me in elementary school thank you for everything Stanley tell you that I will always cry for you big brother ”, wrote a user on Instagram. “Rest in peace my friend you stay in my heart for all eternity,” another posted.
In the middle of a party
According to initial information, it seems that a party was taking place in a private residence and that, “suddenly suspects at the scene would have shot the victim to then flee before the arrival of the police”, recounted the agent Caroline Chèvrefils, shortly after the events.
The crime scene has been protected so that investigators and forensic identification technicians can attempt to shed light on the circumstances of this attempted murder.
At the end of the day Friday, no suspect had yet been arrested by the police. Investigators did not have a guess as to the cause of the shooting. “It is still too early to establish a hypothesis”, notably supported Mme Honeysuckles.
Note that the dog unit was dispatched to the scene to help search for additional clues that could be useful for the investigation.
With Daniel Renaud and Mayssa Ferah, Press, and The Canadian Press