Community mourns teenage girl killed in drive-by shooting
Posted February 10, 2021 7:09 pm.
Last Updated February 10, 2021 7:29 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
MONTREAL (CityNews) – Family, friends and the community are remembering Meriem Boundaoui, the teenage girl killed in a drive-by shooting in Saint-Leonard on Sunday.
The 15-year-old moved from Algeria to Quebec two years ago to live with her sister and brother-in-law. She lived and attended school on the city’s south shore.
“Meriem, she was my best friend,” said Kadida Diawara. “We had a connection as soon as we met. Ever since then, we hung out every day. She was a nice person. She always made me laugh. She was just good to be around.
“She was smart. She loved to learn French. She loved to learn other languages. I used to teach her English all the time. She used to be so proud of herself learning English.”
Meriem Boundaoui, 15, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Saint-Leonard on Sunday. (Credit: Handout photo provided to TVA Nouvelles)
Police said the girl was with another person inside a stopped car Sunday night talking to a group of people outside when a second car drove up and someone opened fire. The girl and a 21-year-old man who was on the sidewalk were hit by bullets.
Boundaoui was later declared dead.
There have been no arrests and no suspects have been identified.
“To lose a young girl, she was 15-year-old, she had all her life, she came to Canada to have a better future, and somebody took her life just like that,” said Ali-Mounir Benabdelhak.
“She was in a bad timing, bad place, and we can’t control this kind of situation. She just went to buy some cake for her sister, and that’s what happened.”
There have been 34 shootings on the island of Montreal in the last six months.
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is calling on the federal government to take stronger action on gun control and to limit the possession of handguns.
Meanwhile the community is still trying to process the act of violence.
“This situation is going to be a call for all the people around the city,” said Benabdelhak. “Don’t play with this kind of stuff. You see the family crying, you just broke an entire family. Imagine, the parents are not in Canada, and we are in a pandemic and we can’t travel.”
A funeral is being planned for the teen in the coming days.
