Quebec provincial police reported that a vehicle discovered ablaze in the early hours of Thursday in the eastern part of Montreal is believed to be connected to a bold daytime shooting at a Starbucks in Laval, Quebec. This incident resulted in the death of a prominent organized crime figure and left two others injured.
The Montreal police located the burning car around 3 a.m. in Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles borough near Clément-Ader and Joliot Curie avenues. Surveillance footage viewed by Radio-Canada showed two suspects arriving at the scene shortly before the shooting and departing in a grey sedan. It remains unclear if the burnt car in Montreal corresponds to the one captured in the footage.
A command post was established near the shooting site, while Laval police swiftly responded to a 911 call at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the coffee shop, situated in a bustling strip mall. The deceased individual has been identified as Charalambos Theologou, also known as Bobby the Greek, with the two wounded individuals being members of his gang, the Chomedey Greeks.
Efforts to locate potential suspects in the fatal shooting were intensified by Laval police and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) on Thursday, with a command post set up at the intersection of 100th Avenue and the Highway 440 service road. Laval’s police chief, Pierre Brochet, in an interview with Radio-Canada’s Tout un matin program, stated that the shooting was clearly linked to organized crime, echoing previous remarks by the province’s public security minister.
Brochet expressed shock at the event, deeming it unacceptable, and mentioned that the joint investigation with the SQ was progressing well. He indicated that investigative teams specializing in organized crime would be deployed to strategic locations. Social workers were also expected to offer psychological support to the strip mall staff affected by the incident.
Christopher Skeete, the provincial minister overseeing the Laval region, emphasized the abnormality of street gangs claiming territory and engaging in frequent conflicts, promising close monitoring of the situation. He highlighted changes in organized crime culture leading to a blatant disregard for human life.
The investigation into this tragic event is ongoing, with no apprehensions made thus far.
