The official opposition to the City of Montreal urges the municipal administration to do more against armed violence, while two murders in less than an hour took place Tuesday evening in the metropolis.

• To read also: Two shooting murders in less than an hour in Montreal

“The most revolting thing is that the administration refuses any proposal when it does not put any alternative in place. How long will it take for her to realize that security is also a responsibility of the City of Montreal, "said Abdelhaq Sari, spokesperson for security. public for the official opposition.

Around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday evening, the police found a 64-year-old man with gunshot wounds in the borough of Saint-Laurent. He died on the spot. An hour later, a second man was hit by shots that were fatal to him, in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville.

These were the 16th and 17th homicides of the year in Montreal.

Mr. Sari indicates that he has proposed several solutions to the Plante administration to deal with the situation: "Summer plan for security, restoration of the number of police officers, evaluation of the needs of social workers, in addition to improving the resources of the ESUP and EMRII squads. Unfortunately, none of these solutions have been applied,” he said.

Responsible for public security within the executive committee of the City, Alain Vaillancourt indicated, in a short written statement, that his thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the two victims.

“We understand the concerns of citizens following the deplorable and targeted events that occurred last night. Our police are currently hard at work to shed light on these events and we are working closely with them to monitor the situation,” he said.

The situation of armed violence seems to be accelerating in Montreal. In 2021, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) recorded 144 discharges of firearms during the year, or one every two and a half days. A marked increase when there had only been 71 in 2020. Homicides had also increased by 40% during the same period.

Since the publication of the SPVM's annual report, however, the Plante administration has reiterated, during various public outings, that "Montreal remains safe".