At least three people have been injured in a shooting near a Laval CÉGEP. Local police put Collège Montmorency under lockdown as a preventative measure, stopping students and teachers from leaving, while their investigation ensued.
Officers were called to a nearby Chomedey park on Friday evening around 5:30 p.m. after gunshots were heard. According to authorities, the victims' lives are not in danger and police are on the hunt for at least one suspect.
The operation was still in progress as of 9 p.m.
\u201cLa fusillade pr\u00e8s du Coll\u00e8ge Montmorency est troublante. @fbonnardelCAQ est en contact avec les forces de l\u2019ordre. Mes pens\u00e9es vont aux victimes et \u00e0 leurs proches. Nous combattrons sans rel\u00e2che la violence arm\u00e9e dans nos rues pour que le Qc reste un endroit s\u00e9curitaire.\u201d— Fran\u00e7ois Legault (@Fran\u00e7ois Legault) 1668219087
"The shooting near Collège Montmorency is disturbing," Premier François Legault tweeted, adding that Public Security Minister François Bonnardel was in touch with police about the shooting.
"My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. We will relentlessly fight gun violence on our streets to keep Quebec a safe place.
"We will wait for the results of the police investigation to fully understand what happened," Bonnardel wrote.
Collège Montmorency is not the only CÉGEP where students were confined to their classrooms on Friday.
A police operation at CÈGEP Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, about an hour south of Montreal, put the Montérégie school under lockdown for several hours. Students were asked to sit quietly for around three hours starting at 10 a.m. while police investigated. Officers arrested a 19-year-old suspect wearing a bulletproof vest mid-afternoon.
This is a developing story, check back for more details.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
