Father of Quebec boxer David Lemieux among victims in fatal Montreal shootings
Get the latest on this story here: Man shot dead by Montreal police was suspect in three recent killings
Montreal police (SPVM) believes the same shooter was behind two separate shootings Tuesday night that claimed the lives of two men just over an hour apart.
Marie-Claude Dandenault, a chief inspector with the force, told CTV News Wednesday that police are "99 per cent sure" the same suspect is responsible for the killings, which happened in the Saint-Laurent and Ahuntsic-Cartierville boroughs.
There is no apparent link yet, she stated, between the two victims and investigators are not ruling out the possibility that the back-to-back acts of gunfire were random in nature.
CTV News confirmed that one of the two slain was André Lemieux, the father of professional boxer David Lemieux. He was 64.
Lemieux wrote "R.I.P. dad" in a Facebook post Wednesday morning.
Andréanne Lambert, a spokesperson for the boxer's management company, Eye of the Tiger, said the tragic killing was "very fresh" and the family wouldn't be making any public statements.
"[David] just wants to keep his family close," she said.
The second victim has been identified as 48-year-old Mohamed Salah Belhaj, an intervention worker at the Albert-Prévost Mental Health Hospital on Gouin West Boulevard.
"We are disturbed to learn of the death in tragic circumstances of Mr. Mohamed Salah Belhaj," wrote Emilie Jacob, a spokesperson for the CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. "We would like to offer our deepest condolences to his loved ones. Support will also be offered to his colleagues to get through this ordeal."
Meanwhile, Montreal police investigators are awaiting results from ballistic testing in Tuesday night's fatal shootings, the latest in a rash of violent gun crimes on the island.
Montreal police investigate a shooting in Ahuntsic-Cartierville. (Cosmo Santamaria/CTV News)
Montreal police says officers are working around the clock — some are even coming in on their day off — to help solve the crime and determine a motive, according to Dandenault.
"Right now, we're looking at everything that we can," she said. "We have investigators flooding the area, no stone is left unturned. We want to get to the bottom of this."
No arrests have been made.
FATAL KILLINGS
The first incident occurred at 9:45 p.m. in the borough of Saint-Laurent.
Police were called to the intersection of Jules-Poitras and Deguire boulevards near Roman-Zytynsky Park.
"Once on the scene, police found the victim shot and injured to the upper body," said Gabriella Youakim, a spokesperson with Montreal police. "The victim died on site."
The 64-year-old victim was known to police for "minor criminality," according to the SPVM.
Shortly after, at 10:50 p.m., officers were called to a shooting in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.
When police arrived at the intersection of Sauvé Ouest and Meilleur streets, near Saint-Benoît Park, they found the 48-year-old man lying on the ground.
"His death was confirmed on site," stated Youakim. "No arrests have been made so far."
He was not known to police.
Security perimeters have been set up at both crime scenes to allow investigators to canvass the areas.
Yoakim confirms the two deaths are the 16th and 17th homicides on the territory monitored by Montreal police.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante reacted to the homicides in a tweet on Wednesday, "My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the two victims of the heinous crimes that took place last night in Montreal."
On Thursday, federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is scheduled to be in Montreal for an announcement on preventing gun and gang violence in the city.
He will be joined by Canadian Heritage Minister and Quebec Lieutenant Pablo Rodriguez, Quebec Public Safety Minister Geneviève Guilbault, and the chair of Montreal's executive committee Dominique Ollivier.
-- with files from CTV News' Luca Caruso-Moro.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.