Montreal police arrest six people, seize five guns after July shooting

Montreal -

Montreal police made another round of arrests Wednesday morning targeting people believed to be connected to one of a string of shootings across the city in the last few weeks.

Police arrested six people in Boisbriand, Montreal North and Saint Leonard relating to a shooting on July 30 in Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension.

Police say the person targeted by the shooters was no longer living in that house, but said a woman and her 10-year-old daughter were inside at the time of the shooting. They were fortunately not injured.

Those arrested Wednesday were known to have gang connections and are between the ages of 17 and 20, according to police.

Police issued search warrants for residences and vehicles and the search resulted in seizing five firearms and 80,000 in cash.

The operation is part of the ongoing police effort to curb gun violence.

Montreal police have been working with the Surete du Quebec (SQ) anti-gun squad since the beginning of the month to crack down on gun violence after a string of shootings across the city.

Since last week, police say they took 23 guns off the streets, but highlight the importance of making these kinds of arrests.

“In our view, it is important because it's making an impact on those individuals who conduct gun violence in our streets. So, we have a tendency of looking at the number of firearms that are seized. It is one indicator, but the most important one, we feel, is impacting those members of gangs or related to gangs that actually do the shooting,” said Insp. David Shane with Montreal police.

“So arresting one of those individuals with a gun in his hands is more important and seizing, maybe, 10 or 20 weapons that don't have an owner yet because you need somebody behind the gun to pull the trigger.”

Shane is also calling on the public to call in if they have any information because tips from citizens have helped the police make arrests like the ones on Wednesday.