Montreal-area teen charged with second-degree murder following stabbing death of Lucas Gaudet

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with second-degree murder following the stabbing death of Montreal-area teen Lucas Gaudet.

Gaudet, 16, was stabbed during a confrontation near St. Thomas High School in Pointe-Claire last week and died two days later in hospital.

The suspect’s bail hearing, originally rescheduled for Wednesday after it was postponed last week, has been rescheduled once more to March 1. He will remain in police custody until then. 

"Because of the gravity of the infraction and many criteria in the law we have to object to [the suspect's] release and make sure the public is safe," said Crown prosecutor Annie Barbeau.

The suspect's identity cannot be revealed as they are a minor.

"It remains a very tough situation as you can imagine for a 16-year-old with no priors whatsoever and no dealings with the judicial system," said defence attorney Tom Pentefountas. "[The suspect's] family probably [are doing] even worse, as most parents can only imagine. And I say that fully respecting the difficulty and the devastating feeling of loss that the victim’s family undoubtedly feels. It gives you goosebumps."

Three teenagers were arrested after in the altercation that left Gaudet in hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries last Thursday.

Following Gaudet’s death, the charges the 16-year-old faces were upgraded to one count of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He has been ordered not to communicate with a long list of people.

"He cannot communicate with all the witnesses and victims in the file and also the victims’ family," said Crown prosecutor Annie Barbeau.

The two other teens were released last week on a promise to appear in court. 

Gaudet’s stabbing is the latest in a string of violence involving Montreal teenagers in the past few months.

In the fall, Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, 16, was stabbed outside his high school in Côte-des-Neiges and Thomas Trudel, 16, was fatally shot in St-Michel.

In January, 17-year-old Amir Benayad was shot to death in the Plateau.

-- with files from CTV’s Angela Mackenzie and Selena Ross.