Montreal police say 2 fatal shootings last night likely linked, carried out by same shooter

Montreal police saytwo separate shootings carried out in the span of an hour andthat left two men dead Tuesday night are likely relatedand were almost certainly committedby the same shooter.

"We now are 99 per centsure that we have one suspect who has perpetratedboth crimes," saidChief Insp.Marie-Claude Dandenault, of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montral(SPVM).

Sources tell Radio-Canada they believe the two men, who were shotin theSaint-Laurent and Ahunstic-Cartierville boroughs,were targeted at random.

The events began when police were called to the Saint-Laurent borough after reports of gunshots.

When they got toDeguireStreet and Jules-Poitras Boulevardjust before 9:45 p.m., they found a man, 64,on the ground with gunshot wounds to his upper body. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim was known to police.

Two police sources confirmed to Radio-Canada that the 64-year-old victim isAndr Lemieux, the father of professional boxer David Lemieux. The boxer's manager also confirmed the identity.

WATCH| Chief inspector says police are doing everything 'toget to the bottomof this':

Montreal police address recent shootings

2 years ago

Duration 3:14

SPVM Chief Inspector Marie-Claude Dandenault gives an update on police response after two shootings Tuesday night.

Less than an hour later, police again received reports of gunshots, this time in Ahunstic-Cartierville, about two kilometres away.

They found a man, 48,with gunshot wounds to his upper bodyon Meilleur Street near Sauv Street West. He too was pronounced dead at the scene. Sources confirmed the victim isMohamed Salah Belhaj.

Police working to determine motive

Montreal police are investigating both incidents and have not made any arrests so far.

"We're looking everywhere ...no stone is left unturned," saidDandenault.

She said no motive has been determined, but police are not ruling out the phenomenon of scoringa practice of eliminating opposing gang members or innocent people at randomto score points with one's own gang.

"It could be scoring, but usually in a scoring we will have someone who will maybe claim [the killing]. We'll see some things come out on social media. Inthis case we have not seen that, but we cannot rule it out," said Dandenault.

According to the SPVM, with these two latest deaths, there have been 17 homicides in the city this year.

In an interview with CBC News, Alan DeSousa, the longtime Saint-Laurentborough mayor, said this kind of violence is rarely seen in the borough.

"This would appear to be an isolated case, definitely not an accident, and is perhaps related to a greater problem that's present in the greater Montreal area that is caused in part by the proliferation of firearms," he said.

DeSousa said the borough will look at stepping up patrols in the area.

In a tweet, Montreal mayor Valrie Plantecalled the two recent killings heinous.On Thursday, politicians from all threelevels of government are set to announce more funding for organizations fighting gun and gang violence in Quebec