A young man suspected of having committed the three murders that have occurred in the last two days in Laval and Montreal was shot dead by the police on Thursday morning, our police sources confirm.
Posted at 8:12
Updated at 9:38 a.m.
The three murders are therefore connected, according to our police information.
Searches are underway at the motel Pierre, in the borough of Saint-Laurent, where the suspect was. Police located a suspicious vehicle – a white Dodge Challenger – rented by the alleged shooter overnight.
As the 26-year-old was shot dead during a police operation, BEI is headed for the scene.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The suspect’s vehicle.
Around 7:00 a.m., police officers from the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) tactical intervention group allegedly searched the motel located on Marcel-Laurin Boulevard. “On the spot, they would have been confronted by a man in possession of a firearm. Shots were reportedly fired,” the BEI said in a statement.
The man was reportedly hit by at least one projectile and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Seven BEI investigators were tasked with investigating the circumstances of the event.
It is the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) which takes charge of the investigation into the three murders which shook the metropolis.
“At the request of the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI), the Sûreté du Québec is taking over responsibility for investigating three homicide cases that occurred in Montreal and Laval over the past few days. »
Three kills, one shooter
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The scene of the first murder which occurred on Wednesday, at the corner of boulevards Jules-Poitras and Deguire.
The most recent victim of this series of homicides is a 22-year-old Laval resident. He was moving on a skateboard in the Laval-des-Rapides district before being targeted by gunfire. In all likelihood, he was targeted at random.
Two men had been murdered an hour apart on Tuesday evening. The first victim is André Fernand Lemieux, a 64-year-old man, father of Quebec boxer David Lemieux.
The second episode of violence occurred an hour later on rue Meilleur, near rue Sauvé. Again, officers found a man lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. This is Mohamed Salah Belhaj, an intervention officer at the Albert-Prévost mental health hospital, 48 years old. The man also succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Our police sources confirm that the man shot dead Thursday morning is the main suspect in these three events.
With Daniel Renaud