16-year-old shot and killed in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood

Montreal police are investigating after a 16-year-old boy was fatally shotin the Saint-Michel neighbourhood on Sunday night.

Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant, spokesperson forMontreal police, said witnesses saw the victim walking on the street before a man approached him.

"There was a verbal exchange between the two," he said. "At a certain point, the suspect shot at least once toward the victim. He got shot to his upper body."

Police were called to the intersection of Villeray Street and 20th Avenue around 9 p.m., where they found the boy unconscious. He had beenstruck by gunfire in the upper body. The victim was not known to police.

He has been identified by Radio-Canada as Thomas Trudel.

First responderstried to revive Thomas before he was pronounced dead at the scene, police say.

The deathmarks the 31sthomicide on Montreal police territory this year, police say.

The investigation has been transferred to the major crimes unit and a perimeter has been set up around the area for the investigation.

Police say they so far have no suspects, or any idea why Thomas was approached and killed.

Theywill be meeting with witnesses to shed light on the circumstances of the incident. Investigatorswill also be reviewing images from several surveillance cameras in the area.

'This is not normal'

Friends of Thomas's who spoke to Radio-Canada said the 16-year-old played hockey and was not involved in any criminal activity.

Moncef Mejri, 18, didn't know Thomas, but lives in the building near where the shooting took place and said he was shocked by what happened.

"He's 16 years old. This is not normal," Mejri told CBC. "He's too young. When I was 16 years old, I just wanted to have fun. I just wanted to enjoy my life the best I could."

Just last month, another 16-year-old Montrealer was killed. On Oct. 18, Jannai Dopwell-Bailey was stabbedin the parking lot of Mile End high school in the city's Cte-des-NeigesNotre-Dame-de-Grceborough.

Another minor has so far been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Jannai's death.