A police investigation is underway after a man was shot and killed in Montreal’s Saint-Leonard borough on Tuesday evening.
Montreal police spokesperson Jessica Lalonde said a 911 call at 7:30 p.m. reported gunshots being fired inside a residential building near Jean-Talon and Michelet streets.
When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered an injured man inside the building’s garage.
The man, who police later identified as Piero Arena, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Lalonde. The 63-year-old was known to police for drug trafficking offences.
René Pelletier, the building janitor, says he was the first to alert police of the shooting after discovering Arena the floor of the garage.
“I found him lying on his side,” Pelletier said.
A perimeter at the scene remained in place Wednesday morning.
The major crimes unit of the Montreal police is leading the investigation.
While still early in the ongoing investigation, police said Wednesday possible ties to organized crime are suspected but have yet to be confirmed.
“It’s still to early too confirm we still have to analyze all the information from the witnesses and the elements of the scene. The major crimes unit still has work to do,” SPVM spokesperson Véronique Dubuc said.
Dubuc says no arrests have been made in what was the city’s 18th slaying in 2021.
—with files from The Canadian Press