Mistakenly believing they had been shot by carjackers they had just caught in the act, police opened fire on the group of suspects Wednesday night at Le Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal.
It was around 1:30 a.m. when patrol officers surprised individuals attempting to steal a vehicle on Avenue du Parc, near rue Bernard Ouest.
Seeing the police arrive to thwart their plans, the suspects dispersed, some of them boarding a waiting getaway vehicle nearby.
The driver of this vehicle reversed toward the police officers, striking their patrol car in the process, before fleeing.
The other suspects got into a second vehicle and fled. According to our information, the sound of the modified car’s muffler sounded like gunshots.
Believing shots were being fired in their direction, at least one police officer opened fire in the direction of the suspect vehicle. Six projectiles were reportedly fired.
During the intervention, no police officer was injured, but some of them had to be taken to the hospital to receive treatment for nervous shock.
Overnight, Montreal police contacted all hospitals in the metropolitan area asking them to notify them if a person with a gunshot wound appeared at their facility.
As of Wednesday morning, no suspect had been identified in this case.
Other attacks observed against patrol officers
This new attack on Montreal police officers adds to a growing list of events in recent years in which patrol officers have been assaulted.
July 22, 2023: Suspected car thieves deliberately attack a police officer trying to intercept them on a small street not far from the Galleries of Anjou. Hit by the suspects’ car, the police officer is injured.
June 7, 2023: Several projectiles are fired at two police officers patrolling Boulevard de l’Acadie, in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville neighborhood. The rear window of their patrol car shatters, but the two officers emerge unharmed.
May 26, 2022: Police Officer Sanjay Vig conducts a traffic safety operation in the LaSalle district. While he was very close to his patrol car, the police officer heard two explosions. The projectiles fired shattered one of the windows of his police car. Although shaken, Police Constable Vig was not injured during the attack.
February 3, 2021: Two police officers who have just arrested a woman suspected of domestic violence in Montreal North are beaten by the suspect’s spouse. The attack is so violent that one of the two police officers loses consciousness.
January 28, 2021: Police officer Sanjay Vig returns to his vehicle after ticketing a motorist in the Parc-Extension district. A man surprises him from behind and hits him with an iron bar, in addition to disarming him and shooting in his direction. One of the projectiles grazes the police officer’s head.
September 13, 2020: The police intervened in the Old Port due to a complaint of excessive noise. They are met by a suspect who opens fire several times in their direction. Four people were injured, including a police officer who was shot in the leg.
August 24, 2019: Two brothers who work as police officers in the SPVM are beaten by four individuals while walking along Saint-Denis Street, in the city center. The savage attack was filmed by one of the suspects and later broadcast on social media. The two police officers, who were not on duty at the time of the incident, suffered serious injuries during the attack.
