No charges laid against Montreal police officers who shot West Island father and son

A Dollard-des-Ormeaux family is demanding an investigation after a police shootout left two of their members injured Aug. 4, 2024. (CTV)

Quebec’s Crown prosecution office says it will not be laying any charges against Montreal police officers after a family was caught in gunfire during a police operation last summer.

Two members of a family from Dollard-des-Ormeaux in Montreal’s West Island were shot Aug. 4. The family was unpacking from a camping trip when a man fleeing from police allegedly tried to steal their car.

Gunfire ensued, injuring three men. Houssam Abdallah, the father of the family, was shot five times, and his son was also injured.

After reviewing the report produced by Quebec’s police watchdog (BEI), the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) “concluded that the analysis of the evidence did not reveal that any criminal offence had been committed by officers of the Montreal Police Service.”

The DPCP said it would not comment further as charges have been laid against one person involved in the police intervention and the case is before the courts.

“When a verdict is rendered by the court, a press release will be issued summarizing the facts of the event and explaining the reasons for the DPCP’s decision,” it said in a statement.

It specified that the decision was made after meeting with and informing those who were injured.

The family had demanded a probe into the police shooting.

Virginie Dufresne-Lemire represents the Abdallah family and says no explanation was provided for the decision.

The family doesn’t know how many officers were involved in the operation, what led to the shooting and why the DPCP decided not to lay charges.

She says the father was severely injured and the family is looking into their legal options.

“It was a vast operation that had huge, to say the least, impacts on this family. So for them to get this decision today ... it is hard to understand and to accept at this point with so little information given to them,” Dufresne-Lemire said.

With files from CTV News Montreal’s Max Harrold