Five months after the fatal police shooting of 15-year-old Nooran Rezayi, Montreal police (SPVM) are conducting searches on Thursday as part of an investigation into events leading up to the killing.
Rezayi was killed on Sept. 21 in Longueuil on Montreal’s South Shore.
The searches are taking place in Beloeil, Brossard, Candiac, Longueuil and Saint-Philippe as Montreal police (SPVM) work on a separate investigation as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI).
SPVM chief inspector David Shane explained that his force is investigating events leading up to the shooting and not the killing itself.
“Those residences that we visited are in order to collect elements, proof pertaining to what happened, everything that has to do with before the actual police intervention,” said Shane.
The searches were all private residences, Shane said.
- READ MORE: Teen fatally shot by police in Longueuil
The BEI’s investigation was launched after a Longueuil police (SPAL) officer shot and killed the boy.
Shane said the BEI often asks a separate police force to investigate cases where “they need to shed light on what happened before” officers injured or killed someone.
“So what led to the police intervention where there was a use of force,” he said. “They investigate whenever police officers that were involved in the use of force that results in a death, a serious injury, if there is firearm exchange, that type of situation.”
Shane said the SPVM investigation is not connected with the BEI investigation into Rezayi’s death.
“We do not report to them when we reach a conclusion,” he said. “When the investigation is done, we will give our report to the DPCP so the Crown prosecutors.”
There have been no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing.
Community in mourning
The André-Laurendeau High School student was with his friends, recording a video in the woods, when police say they received a 911 call about a group of allegedly armed people in a public place.
At some point during the intervention, the boy was shot and killed.
Rezayi’s family has since launched a $2.2 million lawsuit against the SPAL.
