Thread: Killing of Hondoran Immigrant to Canada Sparks Riot in Mont

Killing of Hondoran Immigrant to Canada Sparks Riot in Montreal
Death of Montreal teen sparks riot
18 year old shot after officers felt threatened by group, police said
Christopher Maughan and Julia Kilpatrick , Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, August 11, 2008
MONTREAL - People in the Montreal neighbourhood where 18-year-old Fredy Villenueva was fatally wounded weren't waiting for explanations Sunday night. Their fury erupted into a riot in Montreal North, with knots of protesters roaming the streets and setting fire to cars and garbage barricades.


The Montreal riot police squad was called out, and hundreds of officers formed a perimeter four or five blocks away.


Rioters vandalized the local fire station and set several cars outside ablaze. The firefighters were evacuated. A building kitty-corner to the fire station and community centre burst into flames shortly after 11 p.m.

Onlookers cheered as a van went up in flames.


Ignited propane tanks erupt from rioting in Montreal North Sunday.
Photo by John Morstad/Montreal Gazette

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Font:****Some looters were seen being arrested after 1 a.m. Monday. A police spokesman said two officers and one paramedic suffered non-serious injuries.

Phalanxes of white-helmeted police officers patrolled the streets and the park where Villanueva was shot.

"I just don't understand why the police took my son's life," Lilian Villanueva said Sunday as tears streamed down her face. She could barely speak between sobs.

Their son, Fredy, died in hospital Saturday night after a confrontation with officers near Henri Bourassa Park.

A Montreal police statement said officers felt threatened by Fredy, his brother Dany and a number of friends, which is why they reacted with force. But Fredy's sisters said they couldn't figure out how anybody could have felt threatened by their younger brother. They said Fredy was a low-key kid whose favourite activity was playing video games.

"He was shy. He wasn't the type of guy who would antagonize a police officer," said Julissa, 25. "He didn't like clubbing or drinking beer. He was a quiet guy; he liked to stay in."

The family is still trying to piece together the events that led to Fredy Villanueva's death.

The Surete du Quebec, which has taken over the investigation because it involves Montreal police, remained tight-lipped about the incident.

"I can't tell you what they were doing, we don't even know how many (teenagers) there were," said Sgt. Gregory Gomez Del Prado, a spokesman for the provincial police.

According to Gomez Del Prado, two police officers in a cruiser approached a group of young people gathered in the parking lot behind the Henri Bourassa arena after 7 p.m. Saturday.

Witnesses said police arrived while the group was calmly throwing dice behind the arena, next to a field where children were playing soccer. The witnesses said the police officers singled out Dany Villanueva. They tried to search him and when he resisted, a male officer pushed him to the ground and arrested him, some teens said.

The SQ would not reveal the reason for the arrest. There were conflicting reports about which officer fired the shots.

Claude Laguerre, who said he was one of the young people involved in the incident, said no one in the group made physical contact with the police officers.

"We were six guys and two girls. We approached, but we didn't touch them."

Other witnesses said Fredy and about a half-dozen other young people confronted the police to try to separate them from Dany, who later was placed in the back seat of the cruiser.

Neighbours reported hearing three or four gunshots before the group scattered.

"It turned bad," said Kassem Hamad, 22, who identified himself as a close friend of the victims.

A statement issued by Montreal police late Saturday explained their version of events. The police said the officers were surrounded by youths when they tried to arrest one suspect.

"At one point, the group began to move and a good number of individuals charged toward the police and threatened them," the statement said. "One of the police officers present then fired in the direction of the suspects, striking three of them."

Fo Niemi, co-founder of the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations, called for a public inquiry into the shooting.

"The use of a gun seems completely unjustified," he said. "We want to know whether this is standard police technique."

The Villanuevas immigrated from Honduras in 1998.

Sunday, they said their faith in their adoptive country had been shaken to its core.

"We thought we were going to be better off," Julissa said. "We thought there was justice here. We thought the police were supposed to protect us."


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"We thought we were going to be better off," Julissa said. "We thought there was justice here. We thought the police were supposed to protect us."

Yeah well, who's protecting the police? When gangs are increasingly attacking police officers, what did you think was going to happen?

Rioting just proves you are violent people.

Hey, Montreal, welcome to the United States of America.

Quote:
"We thought we were going to be better off," Julissa said. "We thought there was justice here. We thought the police were supposed to protect us."
Yeah well, who's protecting the police? When gangs are increasingly attacking police officers, what did you think was going to happen?

Rioting just proves you are violent people.

Exactly. I tell ya.....I've not been in Canada much but I have lived in the US and this mob, gang, mentality is something I am not accustomed too. I don't care if it's 12 kids, 10 old people, 8 girls, whatever the make-up......when any group is comming at me.....it signals a problem and I do feel threatned and not likely to stick around to see if they're nice or not. Hey in my day we were encouraged NOT to be with a group when we were in highschool etc. More kids ment more trouble and more chance of getting in trouble even if it was only a couple of kids causing the trouble. I mean if you're in a car with drugs......you all got busted whether you knew about it or not.....did it or not. Guess it was a way my parents figured I wouldn't be pressured into things by going along with the crowd. The idea of rushing or even touching or talking back to police officers was not thought of......let alone done. Not that I did what they asked because I did lie and say it was one or 2 friends when it was more.....and each and every time there was always someone that had to push the limit and risk us all into getting into serious trouble. Personalities change when the "sweet boy" suddenly turns into a thug when he's in company of a bunch of guys. Things they might never do if they were alone, but will try when in the company of others. I know I saw a side of my girls that was different when they were with a group vs alone or just with close friends. It's a shock, but I'm not so stupid as to say...."Not my little angels" ......they sprout horns when need be.

Agree, crazybird. Kids these days are subjected to peer pressure, bullying, ridicule, etc. and normally feel safer with a group of like-minded and like-aged others. Unfortunately, this same phenomenon is now being professionally applied in making sure some segments of society are disenfranchised, and I care only about those here legally, and in my estimation that is why gangs are recruiting more and more.

We enforce the buddy system here. If one of the children wants to go somewhere, they need an adult, friend, oWe have one prepaid Tracfone that they must take with them, and a set amount of time to call and/or come home. I always talk to a parent when they go to a friend's house to make sure there will be supervision. One of my old friends once said I was paranoid. I told her that it's protection, not paranoia. What if something happened to one of my kids and they couldn't get help because they didn't know how, or I didn't know where they were headed bfore they left. I'd have no way to even help the cops find them if they disappeared. My kids have a lot of freedom in that they are allowed to go out and have fun and see their friends, go to the park, walk to the store, but they must do it wisely.

We don't have gangs in my little small town -- yet -- but I fear that day may come. We are only a few short miles from Hazleton, and believe me, Hazleton is as bad LA just on a smaller scale (population scale, that is).

SeaTurtle...have they not cleared Hazleton out yet?I thought for sure they were winning the battle there....