New twist in case involving Montreal homeless man who was harassed

MONTREAL – A video showing a man throwing a drink and hurling insults at a homeless man is still blowing up on social media.

The man who throws the drink, identified as Francis Gauthier, later apologized through Facebook.

He goes on to say that the Old Brewery mission reached out and invited him to the homeless shelter for volunteer work.

READ MORE: ‘Get a motherf**** job!’: Men harass Montreal homeless man on video

But after all the media attention Gauthier has received, the Old Brewery said they aren’t sure he’ll still be able to volunteer.

“We need to see for security reasons, if it’s a good idea,” said the Old Brewery Mission’s coordinator, Stéphane Massicotte.

The shelter explained that their staff and clients are all aware of the video and the Mission is afraid of how Gauthier would be received, but they said, that shouldn’t stop him from volunteering somewhere else.

“What I’m sure of is that it will change his perspective if he does that,” said Massicotte.

In the apology video, which has since been taken down, Gauthier also justified his actions by saying the homeless man spat on his girlfriend and that he was just trying to protect her.

Lawyer Philip Schneider said if that’s the case, the tables could be turned on the homeless man.

“Spitting on somebody is an assault,” he said. “If the police proceed with this investigation and get a confirmation from another witness or from the lady in question that he spit on her then both people can be charged.”

Montreal police have confirmed that they’ve located the homeless man.

They said the 37-year-old has made a statement and that the investigation is still ongoing.