Riot Erupts After Teen Shot By Police In Montreal-North, Canda! (Also Known As The Little Haiti Of Montreal)
CBS Canda reports "
The mother of an 18-year-old shot and killed by a police officer is demanding explanations from the Montreal police force.
But people in the neighbourhood where Fredy Villanueva 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 riot police squad was called out, and hundreds of officers formed a perimeter four or five blocks away.
Rioters vandalized a fire station and set several cars outside ablaze. The firefighters were evacuated. A building near the fire station and community centre burst into flames shortly after 11 p.m.
Onlookers cheered as a van went up in flames.
Police said one police officer was injured, but there was no immediate word of arrests.
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.
Her son, Fredy, died in hospital Saturday night after a confrontation with officers near Henri Bourassa Park.
A 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.
'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, remained tight-lipped about the incident."