A March Will Honour Thomas Trudel, The 16-Year-Old Shooting Victim, This Weekend

On Sunday, November 14, a 16-year-old boy, Thomas Trudel, died after being shot in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood. Now, a march and sit-in titled "Non à la violence et aux armes," translated to English as "No to violence and weapons," is being held on Saturday, November 20, in his honour and in the honour of all the victims of violence in Montreal.

MTL Blog spoke with Forum Jeunesse de Saint-Michel, the group organizing the march, about the importance of the event. The group responded saying they've seen "a series of shootings" near their premises recently.

The group explained that when violent acts like Sunday's shooting occur, "the neighbourhood is affected, classmates and schoolmates are impacted. Parents, young people and social workers become angry and question themselves. The teens begin to talk about revenge and about arming themselves."

"We couldn't just stand by and watch, we have to send a message to the authorities, to the parents, to the youth and to the workers. We have to do something together. We have to reassure the community," they continued.

Forum Jeunesse de Saint-Michel believes "we have left our children in front of screens too much, without any instructions, without warning them about the traps of the networks and the false and misappropriated contents."

"Our young people are only attracted by money and power. They all want to succeed quickly regardless of the means. There is a moral fragility that has been instilled that portrays the use of weapons as a banal thing."

The group hopes this march creates "a connection between parents, schools, communities and youth."

"We need a home and a space to intervene and accompany our youth through these difficult teenage years," they concluded.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante wrote a message to the public about Trudel's death, offering her deepest condolences and saying "Thomas was 16 years old when he was unjustly taken from us earlier this week."

Plante promised that the Montreal police are working hard to find the person who killed Trudel.

The march is taking place near where the shooting occurred last Sunday, at Parc François-Perrault.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.