Police are investigating an altercation that turned deadly in Theodore Park near Hochelaga Ave. Friday morning.
Const. Manuel Couture said “a 20-year-old man was involved in an altercation with multiple suspects, then the suspect fired at least one shot, striking the victim to his upper body.”
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
"When the first police officer arrived, they located the man who was on the ground heavily bleeding. They tried to help him," said Couture. "The first responders arrived, (but) unfortunately the death of the man was confirmed on the scene."
The shooting happened just before 1 a.m. near Theodore St. and Hochelaga Ave. in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.
It was the 11th murder in Montreal in 2019.
Witnesses told police the man was shot after a fight broke out.
"A brawl began with lots of individuals, and at one time during the fight, the man was shot by another suspect then everybody fled the scene before the arrival of the first police officer," said Couture.
Pierre Laguerre said he was friends with the victim and rushed to the scene when he heard about it on the radio.
"It's really sad, that's all I can say," he said. "There was no reason for this to happen."
Nearby residents said they've seen young people hanging around the park late into the night and have called police, but nothing happened.
Investigators are working to determine if the incident was gang-related.
The victim was later identified as Nassaim Saib.
