Only a month after the murder of Christopher-Shawn Jean-Vilsaint, the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) caught the two alleged shooters in this homicide likely linked to gangs.
Two people were arrested Tuesday morning. The suspects are expected to appear Wednesday morning.
Police believe the murder of Mr. Jean-Vilsaint could be a response to the murder of Frédéric Michel, alias Boolin. The latter, killed last April, was a member of the Laval street gang 24 gang, a group from the Saint-François sector.
The two individuals arrested today are Romuald Surin and William Beauvais-Bazile, two close friends of Frédéric Michel. According to our information, they were present at their friend’s funeral.
“The first suspect, who is 25 years old, was arrested in Saint-Jérôme. He will appear at the Montreal courthouse by tomorrow to be charged with first degree murder. As for the second suspect, aged 31, he was apprehended in Prince George, British Columbia, and will appear in this province to also be charged with first degree murder. He will be repatriated to Montreal in the coming days,” the SPVM said in a press release.
Christopher-Shawn Jean-Vilsaint was considered one of the leaders of a coalition of blue street gangs, the 26 Gang, according to our criminal sources.
The hypothesis of a conflict with the 24 gang is favored since several provocations have occurred in recent years between certain individuals associated with Mr. Jean-Vilsaint and others linked to two Laval street gangs: the 24 and the Flamed Head Boys (FHB). Among these violent events which marked this conflict, the murder of a close friend of Christopher-Shawn Jean-Vilsaint, Justice Owusu Tajudeen. The latter, nicknamed Steady, would have already attacked Romuald Surin, alias Buck, in the past during a fight at Carrefour Laval.
According to the underworld, Mr. Jean-Vilsaint had been caught in a conflict with gang leader Jean-Philippe Célestin for several years already, as La Presse reported in mid-May.
He had been embroiled in other conflicts over time, according to several sources familiar with the situation. A violent rivalry was underway between him and a criminal group calling itself Arab Power (AP).
This clan would be linked, according to our information, to Youness Aithaqi, alias Fréro, and to Sylvain Kabbouchi, alias Haboub, two other figures who are gaining momentum in the criminal world.
The criminal investigation was led by the SPVM in close collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Laval Police Service, the Sûreté du Québec, the Vancouver Police Department and the Victoria Police Service. This was the 11th homicide of the year 2024 on the island of Montreal.
