Montreal

Montreal firebombings video released

Montreal police have released surveillance videos they hope will help them track down suspects in the fire bombings of two buildings last fall.

Montreal police have released surveillance videos they hope will help them track down suspects in the fire bombings of two buildings last fall.

A suspect can be seen breaking the door at the Château Classique reception hall in Saint-Leonard. ((Montreal police/CBC))
Three of the videos released on Tuesday show different angles of a Molotov cocktail attack on the Château Classique reception hall in Saint-Leonard.

In one view of the Oct. 13 arson, a man can be seen smashing the door of the building on Des Grandes-Prairies boulevard. The suspect then picks something off the ground and hurls it at the door. The next image shows a ball of fire.

The second video shows a side view of the scene.

In the third video, a second man can be seen watching from below as the first suspect climbs a fire escape.

A fourth video shows an attack that took place at the Café Ferrari in Rivière-des-Prairies on Nov. 24.

Two youths can be seen wearing dark hooded jackets.

One appears to use a lighter to set fire to a piece of newspaper.

A suspect in that attack, 18-year-old Mickendy Demosthène, turned himself in to police in December and has been charged with arson and breaking and entering.

But Demosthène has not been co-operative with investigators, said police.

Series of attacks

The footage is dark and grainy, but investigators are hopeful someone will recognize something about the suspects, said Montreal police Const. Ian Lafrenière.
Two suspects can be seen outside Café Ferrari in Rivière-des-Prairies. ((Montreal Police/CBC))

"That could be the only piece of the puzzle that we're looking for," said Lafrenière.

The attacks were part of a string of 18 cases of arson targeting cafés and bars in Montreal between last September and January.

Investigators still have no idea about the motive for the attacks, he said.

"There could be so many possibilities for someone to commit stuff like that," said Lafrenière. "Is it because of opportunity, is it a copycat, … was it a command by some organizations? We don't know at this moment."

So far police have been unable to make a link between the establishments that were targeted, he said.

There had been some speculation the attacks could be related to a hit on the son of the reputed head of the Montreal Mafia in December.

Nick Rizzuto Jr. was shot to death in a daylight attack in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood.

No arrests have been made in that case.

Rizzuto’s father, Vito Rizzuto, is serving time in a U.S. institution for racketeering.