Two young men were arrested last week following multiple fires set on Dagenais Blvd. in Laval in late September, including one at a Buddhist temple that broke out while Buddhist clergy were inside.
The Laval Police Department confirmed in a news release that officers arrested Jacob Côté, 18, and Mathieu Mongeau, 21, after there had been five fires on Dagenais Blvd. in Fabreville on Sept. 28.
“A call was made to 9-1-1 concerning a fire that was raging inside a garbage container in the parking lot of a business located on Dagenais Blvd. West,” the LPD said. “Four other fires were declared simultaneously in the Fabreville sector.”
According to the LPD’s investigation, the officers were able to quickly catch up to Côté and Mongeau, arresting them on the same night as the fires, because they were lingering a short distance away.
The two were arraigned on Sept. 29 on charges of arson. They remained detained at that time and were due back in court a week later.
Man, 25, shot on Montée Monette in Vimont
There was yet another firearms incident on Laval’s territory last week. This time, a 25-year-old male received a gunshot wound on Oct. 8 as he was driving on Montée Monette in Vimont.
Just after 9:30 pm near the corner of Yvan Pavlov Blvd., another car came up alongside the victim’s vehicle and a gunman began firing in his direction. While the victim sustained a gunshot injury, a passenger riding beside him was not hurt, the police said in an incident report.
The LPD said the victim was not known to them. He was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated, and his injuries were not life-threatening. The LPD had no suspects.
Work to begin at A-15/A-440 interchange, two years after fiery crash
Work on the first phase of a project to make the Autoroute 440/Autoroute 15 interchange safer after years of vehicle accidents was set to begin this week.
The Quebec Ministry of Transport had announced the project after the fiery multi-vehicle accident that took place in early August 2019. Four people lost their lives and a dozen others were injured in a nine-vehicle pile-up that included two heavy trucks.
The first phase of the work will involve adding an entrance south of the A-440 overpass from the A-15 northbound service roads. This phase is expected to limit backed up traffic and improve flow through the interchange.
The Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM) is supervising the project. This is being done in order to connect this work to a project for reserved lanes on the A-15 headed northward. The two projects are expected to be completed by next summer.
A second phase includes the construction of an overhead ramp leading directly from the A-440 West express lanes to the A-15 North, including redevelopment of the Industriel Blvd. exit.
The Quebec government has prioritized the project and is using acceleration measures provided in provincial legislation for accelerating certain infrastructure projects. Around 305,000 vehicles travel every day through the A-440/A-15 interchange.
