Residents of Montreal North are worried about a resumption of violence in their neighborhood which had enjoyed a certain lull for several months.
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“I don’t know what’s going on right now. There are many children here and there are schools. It’s not safe,” worries Pierrette, 68, who has lived in Montreal North for less than a year.
Photo Olivier Faucher
The police presence was sustained today near the site of two crimes in 24 hours in the borough of Montreal-North.
Like several residents with whom The newspaper spoke today in this district where the police presence was supported, she did not wish to be identified because of the climate of fear which reigns in her sector.
His borough was the scene of three events involving gunfire in less than 24 hours on Friday and Saturday, each causing one injury. Two of these events occurred around 6 p.m. at the corner of rue Pascal and boulevard Rolland, very close to where she lives.
According to our information, the Montreal police made an arrest in the Villeray district today which could be linked to the event which took place on Saturday evening, but the authorities did not want to confirm.
At the wrong time
“Saturday, my husband had gone to the restaurant about 15 minutes before it happened,” says Pierrette. It could have happened at the same time, ”she adds.
“You never know,” says Myriam Brunelle, a 35-year-old mother who lives in the area. We can go at the wrong time. It’s unconscious world and it stresses me out, but I can’t do anything. I try not to think about it too much. »
These three events came to disrupt a lull that Montreal North had enjoyed for several months, while the violence seemed to have moved to several other neighborhoods on the Island of Montreal, according to Brunilda Reyes, director of the Forks of Hope.
The premises of this community organization are located a few meters from the place where two attempted murders occurred this weekend. “It’s very worrying,” she said. There’s a lesson we’re supposed to give the kids next Friday, but I don’t know if I’m going to cancel it with what happened. »
A representative of the Collectif des Mamans contre la violence de Montréal-Nord, who requested anonymity because she fears reprisals too much, agrees.
“We had a good summer and it was calm. The children could go out, but now it’s starting again. If those responsible are not arrested, it will continue everywhere. It does not change, ”predicts the one who suggests that the authorities install surveillance cameras in certain streets of the district.