Montreal police announced on Monday that they had pinned no less than 14 suspects and seized some fifteen firearms “in the last few days”, in several areas of the metropolis. Five separate operations were indeed held in four days last week.
It all started on November 14, when the North Criminal Investigations Section arrested two individuals in connection with shots fired the same day on Boulevard Gouin Ouest, in Ahuntsic – Cartierville.
The suspects who were then arrested, aged 17 and 18, “were arrested at their respective residences in a neighboring district”. Two handguns, magazines and ammunition were then collected by the SPVM.
Then, three days later, on November 17, the police carried out three searches in Rosemont – La Petite-Patrie, Ville-Marie and Vaudreuil-Dorion. “In addition to various quantities of narcotics, investigators then seized a pistol, magazines and several ammunition,” reads an official report, which specifies that six suspects aged 24 to 41 were also arrested.
On the same day, the Multisectoral Firearms Team (EMAF) simultaneously carried out seven searches in Lachine, Saint-Laurent and Saint-Philippe, in the Montérégie region. Result: Seven long guns, a pistol, ammunition, a homemade silencer and several parts of weapons were found on the spot. A 36-year-old man was arrested in the wake of the seizures.
“Collective effort”
Two other operations then took place on November 18, first around midnight, when three suspects were arrested following a “home invasion” at a residence in Rivière-des-Prairies – Pointe-aux-Trembles. On the spot, the police identified two firearms in the car of the suspects, young men of 16, 21 and 27 years old.
Barely three hours later, at around 3 a.m., patrol officers noticed “two individuals with suspicious behavior in Old Montreal”. When they were arrested, these 27 and 28-year-old men “were in possession of two loaded pistols and a balaclava”. They were also arrested by the authorities.
In a statement to the media on Monday, Inspector David Shane, spokesperson for the SPVM, recalled that “the fight against gun violence in Montreal is not only the business of our teams specializing in firearms, but a collective effort by all of our police forces ”, recalling in passing“ the importance of the collaboration of the population ”in these arrests and seizures of weapons.
Anyone with relevant information that can help investigators can contact their neighborhood police station or 911 at any time. Info-Crime Montréal’s anonymous and confidential center can also be reached at 514 393-1133 or online at infocrimemontreal.ca.