Lawyer Émile Benamor, owner of the two buildings which burned in Old Montreal and led to the death of nine people, was once again the target of arson during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. This time, it was his car that was targeted in the parking lot of his residence in Dorval.
According to the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM), the lawyer’s vehicle was set on fire around 3 a.m. at his luxury residence on Whitehead Street, in Dorval.
A second car and its residence were also damaged by the flames.
Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control before the flames spread to the residence, valued at nearly $4 million on the City of Montreal’s assessment roll. The vehicle is a total loss.
A suspect was seen running from the scene after the fire started, according to police.
According to the first information available, a suspect used accelerant to set the vehicle on fire and fled on foot before the police arrived.
agent Véronique Dubuc, of the SPVM.
On site, the police found a can of gasoline near the vehicle, said Officer Dubuc.
Investigators from the Arson Section were deployed to the scene.
I woke up to hear a big boom from Émile’s car followed by a big flash of light. It all happened in a matter of seconds.
says Francis-Anthony Geoffrion, a neighbor of Émile Benamor.
For a moment I tried to look to see if anyone suspicious had come out, but I didn’t see anyone. What I saw was a can of gasoline that had been left behind the car.
Worried following recent events that targeted their neighbor, the Geoffrions asked Dorval law enforcement to increase their presence in the neighborhood.
We were already expecting it a little because the last week with the fires and all that… My mother had called Dorval security to send out patrols so that such an incident wouldn’t happen, but it’s arrived
told the young man to our colleague from ICI RDI, Karine Bastien.
This is the fourth criminal event to target Émile Benamor since the deadly fire at the William-Watson-Ogilvie building which left seven dead and nine injured on Place D’Youville, in Old Montreal, in March 2023.
Another fire, this time in a building at 400 Notre-Dame Street, on October 4, claimed the lives of two people, in addition to injuring two others. A week later, two individuals were arrested in connection with the fire and charged with murder.
Five days after the fire, on October 9, around twenty shots were fired at the facade of the building which houses Émile Benamor’s office, still in Old Montreal. Three individuals were arrested by police in the moments following the shooting.
Émile Benamor assures that he has no link with organized crime and that he does not understand why he is the target of these criminal acts.
With information from Karine Bastien
