A 33-year-old man has died after being shot several times in Montreal’s Ville-Marie district Wednesday night.
Montreal police spokesperson Véronique Comtois confirmed Thursday morning it is the city’s 35th homicide of the year.
At around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday night, a call was placed to 911 reporting gunfire on des Érables Avenue, near Sherbrooke Street, in central Montreal.
Emergency services discovered the victim, a 33-year-old man, unconscious, suffering from several gunshot wounds to his upper body.
He was transported to hospital in critical condition where he later died.
Police have not yet determined a motive for the shooting and no arrests have been made.
The canine unit was called in to assist in the investigation.
In Montreal’s budget for 2022, presented Wednesday night by mayor Valérie Plante in a press conference via Zoom, the city pledged more money to fight crime, in response to the increase in gun violence in the city.
“We’ve all been affected by the rise of violence that includes guns in the last months,” said Plante.
Public security accounts for 17.7 per cent of spending, more than anything else.
The city has increased the police department’s budget by $45 million, bringing it to a total of $724 million. 103 new police officers will be hired.
Body cameras will start rolling out gradually in 2022 with $500,000 worth of tests and pilot projects. A wider rollout is expected in 2023.
“We want to work with everybody and it starts with the SPVM and community groups,” said Plante.
— With files from Global News’ Dan Spector