Longueuil police shot and killed a 15-year-old boy on Sunday afternoon.
The boy, Nooran Rezay, was declared dead in hospital after he was struck by at least one bullet during a police operation on Montreal’s South Shore. Quebec’s police oversight agency, the BEI, is now investigating.
According to preliminary information, the BEI says Longueuil police received a 911 call around 2:48 p.m. from someone reporting a group of armed people in a public place.
Officers arrived at the scene, near the intersection of Joseph-Daigneault and Monaco streets, 10 minutes later.
The BEI says the officers then “entered into contact with the members of the group.”
“During the intervention, one person was hit by a shot fired by police,” the agency wrote in a media release, which it said was based on preliminary information.
Officers administered first aid on the scene until ambulances arrived.
A spokesperson for CETAM, the ambulance co-operative that serves Montreal’s South Shore, said two ambulances and the advanced care team attended the scene.
Paramedics transported Rezay to the hospital, according to the spokesperson. He suffered at least one gunshot wound.
Rezay was a student at André-Laurendeau high school, which is also located in Longueuil, not far from where the shooting occurred. A spokesperson for the service centre that oversees the school said psychosocial supports will be offered to students and staff affected by Rezay’s death.
Alexandre Girard, who lives nearby, said he was in his basement on Sunday afternoon when he heard two loud cracks.
He went upstairs and saw a person lying on the ground outside with multiple police performing CPR. Nearby, a group of young people appeared to be panicking, he said.
“It’s worrisome,” he said. “You see that happen to a kid who goes to the same school as your daughter. It’s troubling.”
The BEI investigates incidents where people are injured or killed during police interventions. The oversight agency has assigned five investigators to look into the circumstances of the shooting and is being assisted by Montreal police.
