A 26-year-old man died after being shot by police Thursday morning in the parking lot of a motel in the Saint-Laurent borough of Montreal.
According to Manuel Couture, spokesperson for the Montreal Police Service (SPVM), the person killed was considered a “suspect of murder”.
As the shooting involves police officers, the Independent Investigation Bureau (BEI) of Quebec took up the case.
According to the office, a tactical team with Montreal police was conducting a search of the motel at 7 a.m. as part of an investigation related to three homicides in Montreal and Laval.
Once there, the officers were “confronted by a man in possession of a firearm”.
“Shots were fired. The man was hit by at least one projectile,” said the BEI. “The 26-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Seven investigators from the office have been mandated to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident, assisted by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
The BEI asks anyone who was able to attend the event to contact the investigators online.
THREE RECENT MURDERS
The police intervention comes after three recent killings in Montreal and Laval.
The first incident occurred at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in the borough of Saint-Laurent.
The police were called to the intersection of Jules-Poitras and Deguire boulevards near Roman-Zytynsky Park.
“Once at the scene, the police found the victim with gunshot wounds to the upper body,” said Gabriella Youakim, spokeswoman for the Montreal police. “The victim died at the scene.”
The man was later confirmed to be André Lemieux, the father of professional boxer David Lemieux.
Shortly after, at 10:50 p.m., police were called to a shooting in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.
When the police arrived at the intersection of Sauvé Ouest and Meilleur, near Saint-Benoît Park, they found a 48-year-old man lying on the ground.
“His death was confirmed on the spot,” Youakim said. “No arrests have been made so far.”
The victim was identified as Mohamed Salah Belhaj, working at the Albert-Prévost psychiatric hospital.
Then, Wednesday at 9:30 p.m., the Laval police (SPL) were called to a shooting on Boulevard Clermont.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Laval police spokeswoman Stephanie Beshara.
Their identity has not been confirmed.
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