The Laval Police have opened a homicide investigation after a 31-year-old man sitting in a car in the Saint-François district was shot to death around 11:20 pm on Friday night.
The shooting took place on du Canada St. in Saint-François as the victim was sitting in a Jeep Cherokee.
Saturday morning, the Montreal daily news source La Presse identified him as Stéphane Risler Achille, while saying he had been targeted by at least a dozen bullets.
He was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
According to La Presse, the shooters were in a second vehicle, but fled soon after. The sound of their gunshots led to several calls being made by nearby residents to 9-1-1.
The LPD’s canine squad and the identification unit were on the scene Saturday morning, and investigators were questioning potential witnesses.
According to La Presse, the victim was a resident of Saint-François, who pleaded guilty seven years ago to personal drug possession charges.
Citing police sources, the La Presse news site said he was known to police as an independent drug dealer and a hustler for prostitutes’ services.
While the police don’t believe he was formally affiliated with any criminal organization, La Presse claims he had been seen hanging around with street gang members from the neighborhood where the slaying took place.
Laval, Montreal and other municipalities throughout the Montreal region have been assailed by a wave of gun-related homicides and violent incidents over the past several years, many of them related to an escalation of activity by street gangs and organized crime.
