Man dies after shots fired inside Montreal taxi, police seek at least one suspect

MONTREAL — The hunt for at least one suspect got underway Saturday after a 27-year-old man was shot dead inside a taxi northwest of downtown Montreal, city police said.

Spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said officers responded to a 911 call about the shooting just before midnight and found the victim in the Park Extension neighbourhood with at least one gunshot wound to his upper body.

First responders tried to perform CPR on the man, but he was declared dead at the scene shortly after, Brabant said. His death marks Montreal’s third homicide of 2024.

Police established a large perimeter in the neighbourhood as officers and crime-scene technicians combed the area, gathering information from witnesses and tracking down surveillance footage.

Brabant said several witnesses reported seeing a person approach the taxi before at least one gunshot was fired in the victim’s direction. That person is said to have then fled in an unknown direction.

The Montreal police department’s major crimes unit has taken over the investigation.

There have been no arrests, and police spokesperson Jeanne Drouin said Saturday afternoon that investigators were still analyzing the scene of the crime.

Police said late Saturday morning that the victim was a 27-year-old man with no criminal record. They have not released his name.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press