MONTREAL -- Three young men were sent to the hospital Sunday morning in critical condition after a pair of fights that appear to be linked, according to the Montreal police.

Two of the three people are out of critical condition who were injured in two attempted murders that took place in the space of half an hour, early Sunday morning, in the Ville-Marie borough of Montreal.

The two fights seem to be linked, said Montreal police (SPVM) spokesperson Benoît Boisselle.

In both cases, a fight broke out on the street between different individuals, the first around 3:10 a.m. Sunday at the Viger Ave. and Sanguinet St. intersection.

Police arrived at the scene after several 911 calls, and discovered a man in his 20s lying on the ground. He had been stabbed in the upper body and was in critical condition when transported to the hospital.

“When the police arrived, everyone involved had left, so no arrests were made, no possible suspects and no witnesses,” said Boisselle.

The victim remains in critical condition.

The mystery however cleared up around 3:45 a.m. after more 911 calls came in about another violent fight, this time at the Saint-Urbain St. and Rene-Levesque Blvd. intersection.

This time, several witnesses were still at the scene when the police arrived, as well as two other victims, who were seriously injured.

The victims are two men, also in their 20s, one of whom was stabbed in the upper body and the other brutally beaten unconscious. They were both taken to hospital in critical condition, but their conditions stabilized later in the morning.

“Following the police investigation on the scene, they noticed that the two events are linked and that the same people are involved,” confirmed Boisselle.

According to the most recent developments in the investigation, the young unconscious man is the suspect of the first attempted murder, added SPVM officer Raphaël Bergeron.

Two security perimeters were erected on René-Lévesque Blvd., forcing the closure of two sections of the boulevard, one between Saint-Laurent Blvd. and Saint-Urbain St. and the other near Jeanne–Mance St.

The SPVM officers have begun questioning witnesses, and the investigation continues.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2020.