Man fatally gunned down marks Montreal’s second homicide in 12 hours, police say

Montreal police are investigating after a man and a woman were gunned down and killed in separate shootings that were only hours apart.

A 28-year-old man was fatally shot early in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough early Wednesday, according to police.

Officers responded to a 911 call around 3 a.m. alerting them a man was found unconscious in a parking lot outside a convenience store on Henri-Bourassa Boulevard near Bois de Boulogne Avenue.

The victim was declared dead at the scene with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body. What is unclear is where the shooting took place, since, according to witness accounts gathered by police, no gunshots were heard in the area.

Police confirmed the victim had a criminal record and was known to authorities.

No arrests have been made and police say they currently have no suspects, but a command post was set up at the scene. Investigators from the major crimes unit have taken over the case.

The man’s shooting death comes a little less than 12 hours after a woman, 39, was gunned down in broad daylight Tuesday. She was killed in a parking lot on Jean-Talon Street West near De la Savane Street, in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.

Police say they do not believe the two violent incidents are linked.

“In first information that we are gathering, there is nothing that points to a link to these two events but we are not closing any doors,” police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said.

Witnesses reported a suspect fleeing the scene where the woman was shot, according to police. No arrests have been made, but police said the investigation is ongoing by the major crimes unit.

Police have not provided more information about the victim’s identity, but several media reports have identified her as Claudia Iacono, the daughter-in-law of the late Moreno Gallo, who had ties to organized crime.

The latest deaths mark the eighth and ninth homicides in Montreal this year.

— with files from The Canadian Press