Friends, family members and neighbours are still trying to make sense of the killing of a teenage boy following a police intervention in Longueuil, Que., last weekend. Nooran Rezayi, 15, was shot dead by a Longueuil police officer Sunday afternoon near the intersection of Joseph-Daigneault and Monaco streets. One neighbour who spoke to CTV News Tuesday morning said the officers who responded immediately drew their weapons on a group of boys as soon as they arrived at the scene. “They screamed, ‘Arrêtez! Arrêtez!’ (’Stop! Stop!’) but they fired right away,” said the neighbour, who did not want to provide her name. She said the whole incident happened in a flash and questioned whether the police acted too quickly to the situation. On Tuesday, Longueuil police confirmed that the officer involved is on leave for an indefinite period. “His status will be reassessed at the end of this absence, if necessary, based on the findings of the investigation that will be communicated to us by the BEI (Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes),” a statement by the police force read. The neighbour who witnessed part of the incident said the boys appeared to panic and ran. After hearing two gunshots, the woman said she heard one of the boys involved shout at the officers in French, “Why did you shoot?” She did not see any weapons on the boys. Traumatized by the killing, she wants to see the officer involved held accountable and for the police force to receive better training. “He needs justice, the poor kid, the poor family,” she said, “and, yeah, to get the ‘confiance’ [trust] back to the public.” Only gun seized at scene belonged to the officer: BEI Hours earlier, Quebec’s police watchdog, the BEI, held a rare news conference Tuesday morning to address the fatal shooting. During the news conference, BEI director Brigitte Bishop said the only gun seized at the scene was the one belonging to police. “We seized the gun that was used by the police officer. And the gun is at the lab ... so we are waiting on a ballistics report about it,” she said, adding that after meeting with police, “we know who pulled the trigger.” BEI investigators also retrieved a baseball bat, ski masks and a backpack at the scene. Witnesses previously told CTV News that, prior to the shooting, they saw a group of teens dressed in black, wearing masks and walking through the neighbourhood. The teens said they were on their way to film a video in the woods nearby. The bureau has also received seven videos that have been sent to experts who are looking at the images. Bishop took the unusual step of holding a news conference to relay the facts of the case and the role of the BEI in determining what transpired. She said she decided to hold the news conference also to “call for potential witnesses and the participation of the public if they saw or are in possession of certain evidence that would likely help us.” Bishop said a team of 15 investigators and one analyst has been working for 36 hours on the case. They have spoken to 15 witnesses – both police and civilians – to shed light on what happened. She said they spoke with people in the neighbourhood as well as young people in the area. She said the police altercation began following a 911 call about a group of people wearing hoods, who were allegedly armed in a public place. Police arrived at the scene, and after an intervention, the victim was shot by at least one police bullet, Bishop said. First aid was administered at the scene, and the teen was transferred to hospital, where he was declared dead. Video obtained by CTV News shows an officer performing CPR on the boy as witnesses screamed nearby. The BEI has called on the Montreal police (SPVM) to assist in the investigation, particularly with use of a drone to take pictures of the area. But on Tuesday evening, the SPVM launched a parallel investigation based on information about activities in the neighbourhood that they said they obtained Sunday, before the shooting. Bishop said the BEI’s first priority has been to speak with Rezayi’s family and others close to him. She also reiterated that the BEI is an independent and impartial investigative body. Rezayi was ‘a sweet kid‘ who ‘had his life ahead of him’: family lawyer The boy’s family has retained Montreal criminal lawyer Fernando Belton, who has been speaking on their behalf. He said there is a possibility of legal recourse, but right now their focus is on their loss and getting answers to the many questions they have about the intervention. “Nooran has been described by everyone that I have spoken to as a sweet kid, someone who just turned 15, he had his life ahead of him and a tragic event happened on Sunday,” he said in an interview. He said the grieving parents have not received information from BEI and are wondering why they were only informed their son was dead approximately five hours after the shooting, which happened about 10 minutes from their home. “Why was Nooran singled out? Why was lethal force used? This intervention raises a lot of questions, I think,” Belton said. As the investigation is in its early stages, the lawyer also acknowledged how rare BEI investigations result in criminal charges against police officers in Quebec. “It always raises the question of that institution. If every time we are making an inquiry, it doesn’t result in police accusations, then the question is why. Why are we doing all this?” Belton said. “I’m not saying we don’t trust the BEI right now, I’m just saying it’s a fact that is known and we really hope that Maitre Bishop will be able to give great follow-up to the family but also to the population about this case.” Investigation limits what we can say: Longueuil police chief In a written statement released Tuesday afternoon, Longueuil police chief Patrick Bélanger said the police force is limited in what it can say to the family and the general public about the shooting due to the legal framework surrounding the BEI investigation, and acknowledged that people have questions that remain unanswered. “We understand the profound sadness felt by the family, friends, and all those who knew this young man. We sincerely share their grief,” the police chief said. “Like you, I want to see the circumstances surrounding this event fully investigated. As director of the SPAL (Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil), I reiterate that our organization is cooperating fully and completely with the BEI’s investigation.” BEI calls for information, warns of private investigations Bishop made a plea to the public to trust them to conduct the investigation and for anyone with information to come forward, instead of trying to piece together what happened themselves. “We’ve heard on the premises that there are a lot of people that are trying to understand what’s going on. I totally understand that, but they’re doing certain private investigations and they’re meeting with people. I would like to explain to the population that... if somebody saw something, has something, has detained evidence, to please call our office and we’re going to gather the evidence,” she said. Bishop said anyone collecting material evidence at the scene is “not helping us at all.” “You have to trust us. We’re the ones who are doing the investigation. We’re an independent office. Our mission is to shed light on what happened and that’s what we’re going to do,” she said. “If people have certain video or certain pieces of evidence, please call us and let us doing our job.” Bishop could not say how long the investigation would take, saying it would depend on the evidence that comes forward. “It’s always ongoing until it’s over,” she said. Anyone with information can reach out online. NOTE: An earlier version of this article stated the officer is currently on sick leave based on a news release from Longueuil police. Police later clarified the officer is on leave. With files from CTV News’ Olivia O’Malley
