MONTREAL – Six Montreal police cars were vandalized early Friday and a 22-year-old man was being questioned by police.
The cars’ windshields were smashed about 4:50 a.m. in the parking lot next to police station 44 in Rosemont, on Molson and Place Chassé Sts., Montreal police Constable Anie Lemieux said.
“A police officer heard the windows breaking and went to check,” she said. “He saw a man running away and pursued him on foot. The man is being questioned so we can try and put it all together.”
Even though the word “hausse” (hike) was seen in a TV news report as scrawled on one of the vandalized cars, Lemieux said it is too soon to say if there is a link with the student protests that have taken place recently.
Not long before the incident at the police station, another police car’s windshield was broken and graffiti was scrawled on an office building used by Montreal police on St. Joseph Blvd. about two blocks away.
During Thursday night’s student protest downtown, two men were arrested and are two be charged with illegal use of fireworks, Montreal police Constable Daniel Fortier said.
The men are 17 and 19 years old, respectively, he added. they were arrested near the corner of Sherbrooke and Aylmer Sts about 12:05 a.m.
Police said it took less than 30 minutes for police to declare the night’s demonstration illegal, and they brought in the riot squad because projectiles had been thrown at them and they were asking everyone to leave.