A tragic shooting that claimed the life of a 15-year-old girl in Montreal's St-Léonard borough in 2021 was the result of a protracted conflict between two families over parking spaces, a jury heard this week at the Montreal courthouse.
The Fatal Afternoon in St-Léonard
On February 7, 2021, the teenager was sitting in a parked Volkswagen Jetta outside Boulangerie Castel, located at the corner of Valdombre and Jean-Talon Streets. She was an innocent bystander, prosecutors allege, caught in violence stemming from a business rivalry.
"If (the teenager) died, it was because of a conflict that didn't concern her," prosecutor Katerine Brabant told the jury. "She was in the wrong place at the wrong time." The girl, whose identity is protected, was referred to only by her initials as the charges were read.
Charges and the Crown's Case
Two men, Salim Touaibi, 29, and Aymane Bouadi, 30, have pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder in the girl's death. They also each face four counts of attempted murder related to four men who were near the vehicle at the time of the shooting, including the Jetta's driver.
Brabant outlined the Crown's theory, stating evidence will show the fatal shots were fired from a rented white, two-door Mercedes. The prosecution alleges Touaibi was the driver and Bouadi was the passenger in that vehicle.
Roots of the Conflict and Forthcoming Evidence
The core of the conflict, according to the prosecution, was a parking space on a property belonging to one family's business that was used by the other family's business. Boulangerie Castel is owned by one of the feuding families.
The trial before Quebec Superior Court Justice Yvan Poulin is expected to hear testimony from the four male victims of the attempted murders. The Crown also plans to present a series of wiretapped conversations between the two accused, secretly recorded by Montreal police, as key evidence.
The case continues as the jury begins to hear evidence in a tragedy that highlights the devastating consequences of a localized dispute turning deadly.
