In response to the rise of gun-related crime across parts of the city, Montreal’s mayor Valérie Plante and Police Chief Sylvain Caron held a joint press conference on Feb. 11 to announce a new team of investigators focused on targeting weapon traffickers.
The announcement about the new police unit came after the shooting death of 15-year-old Meriem Boundaoui, who was sitting in a car when another vehicle drove by and opened fire. During the conference, Caron mentioned he met with the Boundaoui family to offer condolences and assured them police are ramping up efforts to fight crime. He said the normalization of gun violence must change and that citizens have the right to live safely in their neighbourhoods.
“Events like we’ve witnessed in the past week are unacceptable,” said Insp. David Shane, the Montreal police force’s English-speaking spokesperson. “It’s touched every one of us on the Montreal police force because, before being police officers, most of us are parents first.”
Police said the new 22-person anti-gun squad, originally announced in December, would be activated in February and would encompass investigators from various specialties.
“We’re not telling you we’re going to have 100 per cent on our report card, but we will put all the efforts needed to combat this phenomenon,” said Shane.
Plante also said she spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the federal government’s role in controlling handguns in Canadian cities and is calling on the federal government to take stronger action on gun control issues. The government is now considering a new bill.
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