News

Dozens of police officers were patrolling a Montreal neighbourhood Monday morning after an overnight rampage that erupted following the shooting of a young man by police.

To view this video you need to upgrade your Flash Player

Download Flash Player from the Adobe website.

Officers went through the burned out north neighbourhood, questioning residents and collecting evidence at several crime scenes. The husks of six burned out cars sat in front of the local fire station, which was closed, while dozens of people watched from the sidewalk or their apartment balconies.

Alexandre Monsef watched as workers boarded up a looted convenience store and pizza parlour in a building he owns.

"On Saturday, the cops overreact and shoot three young guys who did nothing wrong, on Sunday they do nothing while this happens," Mr. Monsef said.

Three police officers were lightly injured, including one female officer who was shot in the leg.

Six people were arrested and three fire trucks were damaged. Police say they've identified 20 break-ins during the looting and at least 39 acts of mischief.

"There was a wide swath of people involved in this, I saw one kid on a bike who must have been six," said Police chief Yvan Délorme. "It was not specifically linked to street gangs."

Community leaders in Montreal North said many people in local immigrant communities have been angry at heavy-handed police tactics for quite some time.

Propane tank fireballs, Molotov cocktails and gunfire lit up a Montreal neighbourhood as marauding youth gangs responded to the police shooting.

The rampage erupted in the city's north end after residents took to the streets for a community demonstration to protest against the shooting.

Hundreds of officers in full riot gear were still marching through the Montreal North neighbourhood early Monday morning, trying to bring calm to the area.

Early Monday, police confirmed that two officers were injured, including one who was shot in the leg.

"One was injured in the leg by a bullet, another was struck by a flying object," Montreal police spokesman Constable Raphaël Bergeron said.

An ambulance technician was injured when he was hit in the head by a Molotov cocktail.

The weekend of violence began as Freddy Alberto Villanueva and his older brother, Danny, were playing dice with friends in a park in the tough Montreal neighbourhood on Saturday. Police arrived and asked to talk to the elder sibling.

Moments later, 18-year-old Freddy lay mortally wounded, struck down by police bullets.

Another 18-year-old and a 20-year-old man were wounded in the ugly confrontation that triggered memories among some of the city's minority community leaders of violence involving police.

Danny Villanueva, 20, was questioned and released Sunday, according to his sister, Patricia Villanueva. No other arrests were made, according to police, and the two officers were not hurt.

Sunday's violence started when protesters torched several cars parked outside a fire station Sunday night in the district.

The rioters then set dozens of fires in the streets and pelted fire trucks with bottles when firefighters arrived to put them out.

The rampage continued through town before close to 100 people gathered in a commercial area.

Dozens crawled through the smashed windows of a pawn shop, convenience store and butcher shop. Most grabbed anything they could.

Men and women of all ages could be seen running down the street clutching TVs, cigarette cartons and slabs of meat.

A backdrop of three-metre high fireballs from about a dozen flaming propane tanks illuminated the looters' paths as they headed down the darkened streets.

An elderly woman carrying her newly acquired stereo laughed with her friend as they made their escape.

Some looters stood on the sidewalk and watched the action, drinking freshly stolen beer.

Meanwhile, along the residential streets, riot-squad officers were forced to dive for cover at least three times, after blasts of what sounded like gunshots went off around them.

“It was sick,” said Patrick Parent, who lives on the street behind the store.

“I had a guy shoot a gun next to me, that's how bad it was. The guy shot two shots, I ran home. It was terrifying. This was bad. I never thought I would see this in my life.”

Mr. Parent, who has lived in the area for six years, thought he had grown accustomed to his neighbourhood's gritty reputation.

“Once in a while there will be a gunshot,” he said. “Usually it's quiet though. There's never nothing bad. This is bad.

“I thought I would see this only on TV, never in real life.”

Sergeant Grégory Gomez del Prado, spokesman for the provincial police, said a male and a female officer drove up to the dice game in a squad car at 7:10 p.m. on Saturday night in Montreal North and tried to arrest a man when an altercation took place.

Witnesses in the neighbourhood, known among some officers as “The Bronx” because of its gang activity and crime, tried to fill in the gaps with their own accounts.

Patricia Villanueva, Danny Valenzuela's elder sister, and witness Samuel Medeiros said an officer wanted to talk to Danny, but he refused to go to the officer, protesting that he had no't done anything wrong.

When the officer arrested Danny, harsh words were exchanged and a scuffle ensued, Mr. Medeiros, 18, said in an interview.

“You can see where the glass was smashed [on the police car],” he said, showing the cellphone video he captured of the aftermath.

By several witness accounts, Freddy Villanueva was approaching the scuffle and yelling insults at the officer when the female officer opened fire.

Quebec provincial police, the Sûreté du Québec, have taken over the investigation into the shootings.

Early Monday morning, heavily armed SQ officers escorted firefighters as they dosed dozens of fires. Police helicopters surveyed the sector from above.

Police took some people into custody, but could not provide details.

Meanwhile, curious citizens walked the streets, scanning the wreckage of fallen bus shelters, trashed phone booths and burned-out cars.

“It's crazy,” said a shaken Richard Christie, a long-time resident.

“All night you could see explosions.”

Mr. Christie said he heard three gunshots as he sat on the front porch of his home.

“A little further down the road there were two fires and the kids were massacring our town,” he said. “After 30 years in Montreal North, I'm wondering if I should move.”

Montreal police Chief Yvan Delorme said Monday morning that officers made six arrests. Three people were nabbed for breaking and entering, one for drug possession and two others for charges still to be determined, he said.

The mob vandalized three fire trucks, the local fire station and broke into 20 businesses, Chief Delorme said.

He said those responsible were hard to catch.

“We faced young people who knew their territory, so they went inside buildings, around buildings,” he said.

Chief Delorme called Monday for an end to the violence and said he is prepared to do whatever is necessary to mend the shaky relations between police and the community.

“We're there to listen, to understand what happened yesterday (Sunday) night and to avoid these kinds of situations,” he said Monday. “We have to feel safe in Montreal.”