The 50-year-old father, who died in a completely unnecessary assault in the parking lot of the legendary Gibeau Orange Julep in Montreal last week, was only trying to calm angry young people at the wheel when he was attacked.
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Andrei Petuhov was returning from work and was with two of his colleagues when their vehicle was blocked by a car on Décarie Boulevard near the exit to Jean Talon Street. Concerned about the situation, the professional parquet installer motioned to the driver to express his dissatisfaction.
The workers then pulled into the parking lot of a nearby McDonald’s while the occupants of the reckless car pulled to a halt at the Gibeau Orange Julep. The two restaurants are only a few meters apart and separated by Rue Paré.
As Mr. Petuhov and his colleagues got out of the vehicle, they heard the young men shouting insults at them.
“Andrei decided to cross the street to see her,” explains André Couture, for whom the victim worked as a subcontractor. He wasn’t going to fight, he wanted to talk to them, to calm them down. »
seizures
Soon the discussion became more heated and Andrei Petuhov wisely decided to turn around and return to his colleagues across the street.
“But one of the guys gave him a bad punch in the back of the head,” explains Mr. Couture. He fell face down on the floor and winced. A real horror story. »
In the hours after the tragedy, the Laval resident was pronounced brain dead at the hospital. Only a few days later the mains plug was officially pulled.
By the time rescuers arrived, his attackers had already fled. But thanks largely to a colleague of the victim who followed them until he could memorize their license plates, police were able to track down two of them the next day.
an arrest
So far only Nedjem Eddine Khirat, 22, has been charged. He faces aggravated assault charges, which may be changed given the victim’s recent death. As he has no criminal record, he remains in custody pending further trial. According to the police, it cannot be ruled out that there will soon be further arrests.
The father of two teenagers’ brutal and unfounded aggression was reportedly caught on surveillance cameras at the famous Orange restaurant in Côte-des-Neiges. The video would be particularly shocking, our sources say. In the event that a court case arises, this will of course be kept as evidence.
– with Nicolas Brasseur
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