Shooting victim in Little Italy was brother of reputed gang leader
The victim of a drive-by shooting in Montreal's Little Italy neighbourhood on Saturday was the brother of reputed gang leader Jean-Philippe Célestin, a source confirmed to CTV News.
Jean Brandon Célestin was shot multiple times after leaving a restaurant on Bellechasse Street just after midnight.
Montreal police (SPVM) have not officially announced the victim's identity, but confirmed they're investigating the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old man.
A spokesperson said officers were called to the corner of Bellechasse and Saint-Denis Streets around 12:15 a.m.
Upon arrival, they discovered a man with serious injuries on the pavement. Officers attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead on the scene.
Several shell casings were found on the ground nearby.
No arrests were made by mid-afternoon Saturday. Preliminary information suggests one or more suspects fired at the victim from inside a vehicle before fleeing the scene.
'Reorganization of organized crime'
Daniel Renaud is a reporter at La Presse specializing in organized crime.
Speaking to CTV News on Saturday, he said the victim's brother, Jean-Philippe Célestin, is a major player in downtown Montreal's drug trade.
The Célestin brothers also served as "right-hands" to organized crime kingpin Gregory Woolley, who was gunned down in November, said Renaud.
"What the experts think, what the observers think, is that right now we're seeing a reorganization of organized crime in Montreal," he explained.
"Police think that adversaries want to seize control of drug trafficking activities in Montreal."
Court records reveal various charges against Jean Brandon Célestin including assault, harassment and resisting arrest.
His death marks the sixth homicide on the SPVM's territory in 2024. At this point last year, only one homicide was in the books, Renaud noted.
With files from CTV Montreal's Matt Gilmour.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978861.1722008569!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are "standing and intact," including its iconic main lodge.
Major Canadian bank dealing with direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
Reported rate of child pornography increased 52% in 2023, total crime up 3%: Statistics Canada
Last year, reported child pornography cases increased by more than 50 per cent in Canada, in part due to more cases being sent to police by specialized internet child exploitation units, according to a Statistics Canada report.
Justin Timberlake's attorney disputes he was intoxicated when arrested for DWI
A hearing in the case of Justin Timberlake being accused of driving while intoxicated was held Friday, where an attorney for the singer disputed his arrest in June.
What we know about 'malicious' attack on French train network ahead of Olympics opening
French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours ahead of the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony after a series of co-ordinated 'malicious acts' upended high-speed train lines.Here's what happened and what we know so far.
When Barbie learned what a gynecologist was, so did many other people, according to new study
A new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that the ending in the 2023 blockbuster film 'Barbie' had an influence on online search interest in terms around gynecology, the branch of medicine that deals with women’s reproductive health.
Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Federal government posts $3.9B deficit in April, May
The result for the April-to-May period compared to a $1.5 billion surplus for the same stretch last year.