VivirLatino

On Saturday, 18 year old Fredy Villanueva, unarmed, was shot and killed by a Montreal police officer speaking community outrage described in the mainstream media as “a riot”.

What is known is that two police officers, a man and a woman, saw a group of young people playing dice in the parking lot behind the Henri Bourassa arena on Rolland Blvd., at the corner of Pascal St.

The officers approached the group and tried to arrest Fredy Villanueva’s brother Dany. An altercation broke out and the male police officer fired four shots.

Three people were injured, including Fredy Villanueva.

Back at home after a short stint in jail, Dany confirmed most witness accounts of the event. He said there was no way police could have felt threatened enough to fire at his brother because no one at the scene was armed and no one was violent.

“When the policeman had me on the ground, I was looking right at him and I didn’t see anyone touch him,” he said. “So how could (the officers) have felt threatened?”

Dany was charged with assault for having struggled with police during his arrest, but he has no idea why police wanted to take him into custody to begin with.

“They didn’t tell me anything. They charged me with assault … but those are the only charges against me,” he said.

While the police are conducting an investigation, the community is less than confident in the process and instead demand an independent investigation.

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