Fatal shooting shatters peace in quiet N.D.G.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on Tuesday night when Montreal police shot and killed a 23-year-old man who they say threatened officers with a knife.
The victim was Nicholas Gibbs, a man known to police with an extensive criminal record.
About 8:15 p.m., Montreal police were called to the corner of Montclair Ave. and de Maisonneuve Blvd., where two men were fighting.
Events unfolded right outside Gabriel Cyr’s apartment. Cyr heard screaming: a man’s voice shouting “shoot me,” followed by the sound of someone speaking frantically on the phone, probably calling police. Two or three minutes later, he heard shots.
“They were literally right next to my window, but there’s a curtain. I didn’t see much,” Cyr said. “My window was open, and when I heard someone saying ‘shoot me,’ I was like ‘I’m getting out of here.’ I went to my kitchen and that’s when I heard five gunshots.”
According to Montreal police, when officers arrived at the scene, one of the men involved in the fight — Gibbs — turned on officers with a knife. Police say they tried unsuccessfully to subdue him with a Taser before resorting to their sidearms.
“We heard somebody fighting. Then police came,” said Paul Gudimov, who was visiting a friend near where the shooting occurred. “They told them to stop, and then there were shots and then everything was quiet.”
Tori Petrilli didn’t hear the commotion, but she and her boyfriend saw the flashing lights of the police cars. She lives on Montclair, near where the shooting took place.
Her boyfriend went outside to see what was going on, and saw police performing CPR, trying to resuscitate a man.
Gibbs was transported to hospital, where he died.
Other residents in the area, like Peter Dowie, couldn’t believe they were hearing gunshots.
“I heard this loud arguing,” he said.
“Then I heard a few shots. Maybe about four shots. I thought to myself: those aren’t shots, and I went back to sleep.”
Another nearby resident thought he was hearing firecrackers. The neighbourhood is generally quiet, he said, except for the frequent trains that roar through on tracks running next to where the shooting occurred.
“You never hear nothing around here. Never, never, never,” he said.
As recently as June 30, Gibbs pleaded guilty to assaulting a person with intent to resist arrest. He was facing charges of fraud and forgery and was scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 16.
According to court documents, Gibbs used to live on Walkley Ave. close to the street corner where he was shot.
Dozens of police cars were on the scene Wednesday morning. Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau of Independent Inquiry (BEI), is investigating. The agency said eight investigators have been assigned to the case.
Two specialists from the Sûreté du Québec are assisting the BEI. They were present Wednesday, collecting evidence.
An SPVM officer standing in front of the police tape said Tasers aren’t always effective.
“If the guy is wielding a knife, unfortunately the only way is to shoot the guy,” he said. “The strings that are attached to the Taser gun, they ’re not long enough. If someone is charging you with a knife, you need at least 20 feet of distance or something between you and him.”
Police left the scene at 9:30 a.m. BEI investigators remained on the scene until later in the afternoon.
If the guy is wielding a knife, unfortunately the only way is to shoot the guy.