Hundreds march in Montreal in memory of a 16-year-old murdered in Saint-Michel – Montreal | The Canadian News

Hundreds of people gathered in Saint-Michel on Saturday to mourn the death of 16-year-old Thomas Trudel.

The high school student with no known links to the crime was killed in the area last Sunday.

Community leaders expressed their anger and demanded action from the government to stop the violence that is taking place on the streets of Montreal.

“We would have liked not to organize another tribute to another child,” said Mohamed Noredine Mimoun, coordinator of the Forum Jeunesse de Saint-Michel.

“This tribute is above all in support of the family, but also of the young people at the school and all of Thomas’s friends. We do not want to enter a vicious circle of violence, we do not want there to be a feeling of revenge or a feeling of insecurity that will push our young people back to arms ”.

Trudel was shot near the high school he was attending, Ecole Joseph-François-Perrault. Many of his fellow students attended.

“Honestly, it makes me feel like I lost someone because everyone is sad around me,” said Marie Liacas, who attends the school. “I’ve been crying a lot even though I didn’t know him, because the impact on everyone’s life is just horrible.”

Jannai Dopwell-Bailey, 16, and Meriem Boundaoui, 15, were also on the protesters’ minds. Both teens were also shot to death this year, and their faces were on various posters brought in by attendees.

“My son, when he goes somewhere, I bring him and go look for him. It’s like that, ”said Sonia Kahlal, who said she has a 16-year-old son who met Trudel when they were younger.

The crowd marched grimly from Parc François-Perrault to the spot where Trudel lost his life, where many took a moment to pay their respects at the growing memorial site.

Politicians from all three levels of government were present and addressed the crowd.

“We must do everything in our power, all together, so that this never happens again,” said Federal Minister of Heritage and Montreal deputy, Pablo Rodríguez. “Love must always triumph, at all times, over fear and the fear of hatred.”

Some in the crowd yelled at him, demanding action.

Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde, the newly elected mayor of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension, was applauded during her speech.

She demanded that Canada do a better job of protecting itself against arms smuggling at the border, and then demanded that Quebec invest more money in after-school activities that keep teens out of trouble.