Several thousand kilometers from the metropolis, a 22-year-old young man was arrested who is suspected of being involved in a serious attempted murder with firearms in eastern Montreal more than two years ago.
It is September 1st, 2021. It is 4:15 p.m. and the sun is shining. In the Rivière-des-Prairies district, there are many people on the streets, including several young people returning from school.
Suddenly shots are fired at a young man sitting in front of a house at the intersection of 55th Avenue and 3rd Street.
Miraculously, the victim managed to seek refuge in the apartment and escape the hail of bullets.
In total, around twenty shots were fired in the attempted murder, which took place in the middle of the street in broad daylight.
A few months earlier, another shooting occurred a few hundred meters away, which broke out during the day and left three people dead and two injured.
After missing their target, the suspects fled by car but were quickly involved in a traffic accident.
They then fled on foot, but were found and arrested by police about an hour later. The suspects Etssin Exavier, Gerry Alexis Marc and Jeffrey Fort, aged 19, 22 and 23 respectively, are accused of attempted murder, among other things.
At least two of them openly identify themselves as members of a north Montreal street gang with red loyalties.
A fourth person who managed to elude police in this incident was arrested more than two years later while hiding in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Chad Daniel Vatyl, 22, was returned to Montreal by investigators on Thursday and then appeared on charges of attempted murder, conspiracy, discharging a firearm and entering a vehicle containing a prohibited firearm.