After 2 daylight shootings in Montreal, authorities try to reassure public

After two men were shot dead in two separate incidents Tuesday afternoon, Quebec Premier François Legault vowed the government will take the necessary steps to "restore order and protect the citizens."

"We will support our police forces to put an end to this violence," he said on Twitter.

"We will not accept, as a government, that Montreal becomes a shooting range for gangs."

Montreal police are still investigating the shootings. The first left 44-year-old Maxime Lenoir dead after he was shot in the parking lot of Rockland Shopping Centre in the Town of Mont Royal (TMR).

Montreal police say a vehicle suspected of being used by the shooter in that case was found abandoned Wednesday morning. It was a 911 caller who alerted police to the vehicle in TMR near the intersection of Canora Road and Franklin Avenue.

The victim, and his links with organized crime, were known to the police, Radio-Canada has learned.

The second shooting took place inside a pizzeria on St-Denis Street, in Montreal's central Latin Quarter, about 40 minutes later. The victim was Diego Fiorita, age 50.

Plante says city 'not a playground for criminals'

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante held a news conference Wednesday to address the shootings, and the sense of safety in the city that, for some, she said has been shaken.

She said the city is going through a challenging phase, but it's important to stick together.

"We are going through a difficult, troubled period, but we have seen others and we have come through," she said.

She said Montreal "is not a playground for criminals" and the various levels of government, in collaboration with the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), are working together to confront gun violence.

She said she has spoken with Quebec's top officials and even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau since the shootings to discuss solutions. She said the Legault administration is open to new strategies.

"Montreal remains a safe city," she said.

Montreal police interim chief Sophie Roy also spoke to the need for everybody to work together. She said said the SPVM is developing new strategies that will be released in detail soon, but the police need the population to work with them.

She said officers don't feel support from the community these days, with citizens constantly filming them while they do their job.

She encouraged the population to show more support for police as the SPVM works to curb gun violence.

Guilbault says province ready to help

In an interview with Radio-Canada, Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said prevention is important, but so is having police officers out patrolling.

"In the short term, I think people need to see police out in the field," said Guilbault.

She said she has spoken with Plante and Legault about increasing the presence of police officers patrolling Montreal. She said her administration is ready to invest provincial money in improving security as long as there is a concrete plan in place.

If it takes hiring more police officers, Guilbault said, the province is ready to help as long as the SPVM and city reach an agreement on the number of new officers needed.

Guilbault reiterated her confidence in CENTAURE, a $200-million strategy that, since it was launched last year, has resulted in nearly 500 arrests.

Federal government chipping in

"The recent shootings in Montreal are a reminder of the work we must continue to do to fight gun violence and ensure that everyone feels safe in their communities," said Audrey Champoux, a spokesperson for Marco Mendicino, Canada's minister of public safety.

She said work begins in the communities with investments to stop gun violence before it starts.

This includes the federal government's $17-million investment in prevention and other programs in Montreal that was announced earlier in the month, she said. 

"It includes action at our borders, where we've added resources to fight smuggling and stop guns from coming into Canada," Champoux said, citing the ban on assault-style weapons and the upcoming buyback program.

She said her government has also introduced Bill C-21 which includes a national freeze on handguns and new "red-flag laws" to address the role of guns in domestic violence.

Quebec has increased its contribution to the SPVM's budget by $11 million over the last four years, bringing it up to $30 million.

Regardless, from January to July's end, at least nine people were killed by firearms in Montreal, according to preliminary data compiled by the SPVM, which also lists 32 attempted murders and 80 events where a firearm was discharged.