In the spotlight for a week due to the arson of his building which left two dead in Old Montreal, lawyer Émile Benamor saw his office riddled with bullets late Tuesday evening, in downtown Montreal. city.
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A total of 19 shots were fired shortly before midnight at the small commercial building located on Berri Street, near the intersection of Saint-Antoine East Street.
Several calls to 911 were made by citizens to report the numerous explosions.
Witnesses reported seeing a suspicious vehicle – a white van rented from the U-Haul company – which promptly left the crime scene.
This same van was located by the police a few moments later, near the intersection of avenue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville and rue de Boisbriand, in the Quartier des spectacles, just 1.5 kilometers away. from the offices of Émile Benamor.
Erik Peters / Agence QMI
The patrol officers then proceeded to arrest the three alleged perpetrators of the attack, three young men aged 17, 19 and 20 years old.
A firearm was also seized from their rental vehicle.
The building targeted by the burst of gunfire houses the offices of lawyer Emile Benamor, who owns the building where a 43-year-old mother and her 7-year-old daughter died last week in an arson attack a business in Old Montreal.
The flames quickly spread to the upper floors, where nearly thirty people were staying. In addition to the two French tourists who lost their lives, two people were injured. One of them is still in the hospital.
Mr. Benamor also owns the building which was also the target of an arson attack in March 2023, on Place d’Youville, in Old Montreal. Seven people were killed and nine others were injured.
