Former high-ranking Hells Angel gunned down in Rivière-des-Prairies

A former high-ranking member of the Hells Angels was gunned down overnight in a parking lot in Rivière-des-Prairies, sources have confirmed to CBC News.

Vincent Lamer was found just after midnight behind the wheel of a vehicle near the intersection of 55th Avenue and La Martinière Street. His body was found in the car, parked in the lot of a truck repair company, riddled with bullets.

The 48-year-old was a member of the Hells Angels underling gang, The Rockers, and a close associate of former Hells Angels boss Maurice "Mom" Boucher at the height of the biker wars.

He was in critical condition when he was taken to hospital, where he later died.

Police say a suspect fled the scene before police arrived.

Lamer was one of many gang members arrested as part of the spring 2001 police crackdown during the biker wars.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2002 after pleading guilty to drug trafficking, gangsterism and conspiracy to commit murder and was granted parole six years later.

Investigators from the major crimes unit will be meeting with different witnesses, analyzing the scene and looking for cameras to pull surveillance video.

Const. Manuel Couture said the canine unit and forensics experts are also part of the investigation.

Montreal police found a burnt-out stolen car in Rosemont shortly after last night's homicide, which is usually a signature sign of a Hells Angels killing, but police are not connecting the two crimes right now.