Brossard triple homicide: man charged in murder of his two children & partner

The man detained on the scene of a triple homicide on Montreal’s South Shore on Sunday as an important witness – has now been charged.

Mohamad Al Ballouz, 36, is accused of the premeditated murders of his two children and the second degree murder of his partner, as well as arson.

Longueil police said the three people were found Sunday during a fire in a Brossard apartment complex.

The 38-year-old woman, Synthia Bussières, and her children, ages five and two, were declared dead in hospital after being found inside the burning apartment.

Emergency services responded to a fire alarm around 1 a.m. at the building on Saint-Laurent Blvd., near Saint-Charles street.

The suspect was stopped at the scene on Sunday.

Police say the damage from the fire was limited to the unit where the victims were found.

Al Ballouz appeared in court via phone from his hospital bed. His next court date is set for Oct. 20.

Third femicide in as many weeks

This is the third femicide in recent weeks in the Montreal area – and the 10th in Quebec this year, with four children killed.

“These are women and in this case, children who are killed by somebody that was supposed to love them, was supposed to protect them. I think that is what is so difficult with cases of femicides, domestic violence is that these are people you’re supposed to be able to trust and they take the ultimate control which is control over life, death,” said Linda Basque of Info-Femmes.

“How are men able to take this step? This is what we have to address because we’ve been addressing how to help victims, how to try and protect victims. Obviously, it’s not enough, because even though these women do everything, they’re supposed to take all the steps to protect themselves, they’re still being killed.”

Basque, who has been working on the ground, explained that they’ve seen an increase in all forms of intimate partner violence cases since the pandemic.

“We also knew that there would be an increase once we were no longer confined because, again, it’s a question of control. The women were going to go back to work, go back to their lives. So this control that they had, you were going to lose it. So we’re not necessarily surprised. But what is alarming is that it’s not diminishing.”

She says a report was tabled with recommendations on how to prevent femicides in Quebec – and not much has been done with it.

She says the upcoming election is a great opportunity to vote for parties who will prioritize women’s rights.

“The solutions are there. What we need now is for the government to put those in place quickly so that we can work not only on protecting the victims, but on working on the root of the problem that we are in a patriarchal society that still sees women as objects, as second class citizens.”

If you need help, reach out. Call SOS violence conjugal 24/7 at 1-800-363-9010.

If you fear you may become violent towards your partner, call PRO-GAM for an appointment at 514-270-8462.