The deaths of three young people – one of whom was just 15 years old – after a fight in an alley in Plateau Mont-Royal on Tuesday night is not related to organized crime or street gangs, according to the Montreal Metropolitan Police Service (SPVM). In fact, it was about a fight in which fifteen people took part, which broke out. The suspects in this case are still on the run.
“This is a random event, which is in no way connected to organized crime or other incidents of murder that have occurred in the last week. It is a conflict that has degenerated and which, unfortunately, has led to the death of three people, including a 15-year-old teenager,” explained Jean-Sébastien Caron, commander of the Section, at a press briefing on Wednesday morning at the SPVM.
Some of the people involved in the fight knew each other. The SPVM has identified several suspects, but no arrests have been made so far, and the investigation continues to determine the origin of the conflict.
Commander Caron indicated that police officers are still working to review surveillance footage, meet with witnesses and recover evidence. “People who were in the best position to help us have unfortunately died or don’t want to work with us. »
A safe city?
Montreal remains a safe city despite these seven murders in ten days, according to him. “Still, it is worrying to see so many murders in such a short time. (…) This is a combination of circumstances, said Commander Caron. If you look at them individually, they are often about escalated conflicts or people who were really directly targeted by the suspects. »
Commander Caron said suspects were arrested in three of the four previous homicides that occurred before the three killings Tuesday night.
Only one of these seven murders was committed with a firearm, Commander Caron pointed out. The SPVM has also seen a drop in incidents involving firearms this year, he added.
Since the beginning of the year, 16 murders have been recorded on the island of Montreal, including 6 related to organized crime. “We could not say that there is a resurgence or an increase,” the police commander commented on the occasion. In the same period in 2023, SPVM counted nine murders, including three with firearms and five with blades.
“Montreal is going through a difficult week, we have to admit,” the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, admitted on Wednesday. “The amounts we have invested in recent years are significant. However, we have had fewer and fewer statistics regarding armed violence for several months now. But one murder with a knife is one murder too many, anyway. »
The minister said that he trusts the SPVM to ensure the safety of Montrealers.
Command post in place
On Tuesday evening, the police were first called to the alley between Saint-André and Mentan streets. When the police officers arrived at the scene, they found three young men who had been injured by a sharp object. Three victims, aged 15, 23 and 25, were taken to hospital where their condition is considered critical. SPVM confirmed on Wednesday morning that all three have passed away. For their part, the suspects fled before the police arrived at the scene.
On Wednesday, a command post was deployed near the crime scene to facilitate the investigation.
There were 33 homicides in the metropolitan area last year, a figure that includes seven deaths related to a fire that ravaged a building in Old Montreal in March 2023. That was down from the 41 homicides recorded in 2022, but up from the 37 homicides in in 2021
In terms of gun-related events, the figure reached 95 last year, representing a 26% drop between 2022 and 2023. Earlier this year, SPVM attributed this progress to strategies put in place in terms of police visibility, criminal investigations, prevention and intelligence.
With François Carabin and The Canadian Press