An increase in violence has been sweeping since last year on the South Shore of Montreal, which had until now been spared, unlike the metropolis and Laval which have been the scene of multiple incidents linked to firearms.
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In 2023, the Longueuil Agglomeration Police Department recorded 38 firearm-related incidents on its territory, a record since 2019.
And the year 2024 is off to a bad start: already 10 events have occurred in two and a half months.
COURTESY SPAL
This number includes one murder, one attempted murder, as well as four possessions of firearms. An individual was also caught in the middle of the transaction of a semi-automatic rifle.
A 26-year-old man known to police circles was shot before taking refuge at the Brossard Hotel, in Longueuil, early Tuesday, March 5, 2024. MAXIME DELAND/AGENCE QMI
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, MAXIME DELAND
Busy investigators
Since January alone, there have already been two incidents involving shootings.
This is already more than in 2019 and 2020, where only one discharge by firearm was recorded each year.
But in 2023, SPAL major crimes investigators were stretched with eight shooting investigations.
Longueuil police investigated following shots fired at a residence last December. No one was injured during this event.
PHOTO AGENCY QMI, ERIK PETERS
“Going from three firearm discharges [en 2022] at eight, in one year, it’s enormous. These are complex investigations, in which we often have few witnesses, suspects who have left the scene, so it requires several hours at the crime scene,” explained Inspector Jean-François Lapolice.
For example, it took painstaking work to catch Ghandi Estimé, an individual recently sentenced to five and a half years in prison for firing shots in the middle of the street in the early morning (see other text).
This investigation alone, which lasted nine months, required multiple investigative techniques, including shadowing, and required the analysis of more than 4,000 elements, such as documents and videos.
Still “under control”
Despite everything, the fight against armed violence remains a priority for the SPAL, assures Inspector Lapolice.
“We must be proactive, we cannot turn a blind eye to these crimes by telling ourselves that it is often criminals who shoot each other,” he said.
Especially since quickly arresting an armed individual can prevent another crime, he added.
Furthermore, if Montreal and Laval had experienced a proliferation of firearms events since 2019, notably attributable to rivalries between young people and gangs, the South Shore of the metropolis had been largely spared.
Jean-François Lapolice, major crimes inspector at SPAL.
Photo courtesy, SPAL
To try to explain this increase, Inspector Lapolice said he noticed a certain “movement” of criminalized people, who lived on the Island, and who moved to Longueuil.
And despite the clear increase in events involving a weapon in one year, the Longueuil agglomeration “is still under control”.
“Currently, we are able to mention that there is no war between clans vying for control of a territory,” he said.
Despite everything, we continue to put pressure on criminal groups, he assured.
Known for his flamboyant shoes
Thanks to a surveillance camera on a residence, a criminal who fired in the middle of the street in the early morning in Longueuil was recognized by investigators because of his flamboyant red shoes.
Ghandi Estimé recently pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a prohibited firearm and negligent use of a firearm.
Early on April 20, around 5:45 a.m., he showed up on Daniel Street, in Longueuil, in the company of friends. A few hours earlier, they had had an altercation in a bar with a man, and were hoping to have a discussion about it with an acquaintance.
But things didn’t go as planned: they were instead greeted with gunfire.
Scene captured by cameras
The entire scene was captured by a surveillance camera from a neighboring residence. On the video, we see a group of individuals, including the accused. They advance towards a residence but quickly back away. It was at this moment that Ghandi Estimé grabbed a gun from him and fired it, before fleeing.
No one was hurt. A bullet was found in the cornice of a neighboring residence.
The bullet hole found in a neighbor’s cornice.
COURTESY PHOTO COURT FILE
Many local residents were awakened by the explosions and called 911.
But even if the police had images of the crime in their hands, they had to clearly identify the shooter.
To do this, they multiplied the investigative steps, including ballistic analyses, shadowing, GPS tags under his vehicle, analysis of his phone.
Red shoes
It was not until December, nine months later, that Ghandi Estimé was arrested.
Ghandi Estimé, captured by surveillance cameras in a Montreal bar, a few hours before a shooting in which he took part in Longueuil in the early morning.
COURTESY PHOTO COURT FILE
Hours before the event, he was seen by the Éclipse team in a Montreal bar. This unit of the Montreal police, which fights against organized crime, visits different licensed establishments to collect information on the individuals present.
“With the surveillance cameras, it was possible to compare his clothes,” explained the Crown prosecutor in the case, Ms.e Caroline Bouchard-Lauzon.
The accused notably wore red Jordan brand sports shoes. In the images of the shooting, his shoes are clearly visible.
Ghandi Estimé received 5 and a half years of detention at the Longueuil courthouse. He was recognized by the police by his flamboyant red shoes.
COURTESY PHOTO COURT FILE
Estimé, aged 39, quickly ended the legal process, pleading guilty just weeks after his arrest.
He received a prison sentence of five and a half years.
“He absolutely wanted to take responsibility for his actions and wanted to quickly settle his debt to society in order to be released as quickly as possible and get his life back in hand,” explained his lawyer, Me Richard Tawil.