Man shot dead in SUV, young child in back seat: SQ investigating in St-Charles-Borromée

By The Canadian Press

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is investigating the death of a man shot dead in broad daylight in his sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the Lanaudière region, with his young child in the back seat.

The murder occurred in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Saint-Charles-Borromée, near Joliette.

A woman who heard the child – made the gruesome discovery and alerted emergency services shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

“As for the child, who was sitting in the back seat, he was not injured. He is a child under the age of four, who has been taken in charge by the authorities,” said Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Sgt. Eloïse Cossette.

The victim is a 37-year-old local resident, whose identity has not been released.

“Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead on the spot. He had been hit by projectiles. (…) The reasons why he was attacked remain to be clarified,” said Cossette.

Various media outlets are reporting that the victim is close to the Hells Angels, but the SQ refused to confirm the information in order not to interfere with the ongoing investigation.

“What we know about the victim is that he is a 37-year-old man who had relationships with people involved in criminal activities, with certain groups of individuals,” said Cossette.

The investigation involves several SQ police officers, investigators and forensic identification technicians.

“It happened in the parking lot of a four-storey building. There are several buildings in the vicinity, lots of businesses, so that’s a lot of potential witnesses,” stressed Cossette, who explains that a major verification effort was underway in the neighbourhood.

“Checking with neighbours to see if they not only heard, but maybe saw suspicious people, suspicious vehicles, things like that, checking surveillance cameras. It’s all in full swing,” said the SQ spokesperson.

The suspect or suspects were still at large at midday.

“We invite the public who may have noticed something to call us at the Criminal Information Centre at 1-800-659-4264, and people can call us confidentially,” said Cossette.

The SQ investigation continues.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews

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