Montreal police are investigating after a 12-year-old boy was allegedly robbed at gunpoint for his iPhone while playing at Pasquale-Gattuso Park in Rivieres-des-Prairies Sunday afternoon. According to police, the incident occurred at 3:30 pm, when three suspects around the age of 15 approached the boy and threatened him with what appeared to be a weapon before running away on Daniel-Dony Avenue. The victim’s father, who did not wish to be identified, said his son was playing a pickup game of soccer with his friends that afternoon. “He was playing soccer with his friends, and he was a goalie, and he had his phone on the floor next to the goalie’s net,” he said. His son reported three suspects that approached him were wearing ski masks. “One of the kids that had the gun, lifted up his shirt, removed the gun off his pants and held the gun towards the ground and said, give me your phone,” said the father. “My son said go ahead, take the phone. I don’t want problems. I don’t want to get hurt.” He said the suspects took his son’s black iPhone 13 Pro and left. One of the victim’s friends called his mother. “When my son’s friend called me, he was traumatized on the phone telling me that my son was threatened by a gun and stole his phone,” she said. “I went black. I flew to the park with my sister, and, when I saw my son, he was white; it broke my heart.” She said her son is now doing better, but she posted about the incident on social media to alert other parents. SPVM spokesperson Raphael Bergeron said the 12-year-old did the right thing by handing over his phone instead of fighting with the suspects. “It’s not worth the risk,” said Bergeron. Police investigators have canvassed the area and obtained video of the suspects. No arrests have been made. The victim’s parents said they would like to see more police patrols in the area during the day and have implemented a new policy at home. “I told him if you want to go to the park with your friends there has to be at least an adult present, a parent present,” he said. “To make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
