The owner of a Montreal fashion boutique where two men were murdered this week appeared in court Saturday on suspicion of breaching his bail conditions.
During a short appearance via video link, Ducarme Joseph, 41, wore a grey t-shirt and a small gold chain.
Police say his arrest was tied to allegations that he violated his bail conditions. The court also heard that Joseph was in possession of a small, black cylindrical object. The object may have been a silencer.
A bail hearing has been set for Monday.
Court records show that Joseph was charged with weapons violations last September, CTV Montreal reported. One of his bail conditions was that he could not communicate with people linked to criminal activity.
The court appearance comes two days after Old Montreal was shut down by a brazen, daylight shooting that killed two people and injured two others.
Sources have said that the shooting bears all the hallmarks of a professional hit, and police said that the fashion boutique had been on their radar.
On Thursday afternoon, two gunmen walked into the Flawnego clothing boutique and started shooting. Four people were shot. Two died and two remain in hospital in stable condition. Police were alerted to the shooting at 1:45 p.m.
Witnesses say that the gunmen fled the scene on foot, discarding parts of their disguises -- including a dreadlocked wig -- into the street.
Montreal police Const. Anie Lemieux described the suspects as two tall, black men.
CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie reported that three of the four shooting victims are known to police and that they range in age from 27 to 59.
The fourth victim was an apprentice electrician who is in stable condition with serious injuries. Police believe "he was just someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Lurie said.
Several witnesses were present at the time of the shooting, including construction workers and other bystanders, some of whom saw the killers taking off their disguises as they fled the scene.
Police sources have indicated that investigators believe the shooting may be linked to the December murder of Nick Rizzuto Jr., the son of reputed Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto.
The elder Rizzuto is currently serving a 10-year sentence in a Colorado prison for racketeering.
But the Montreal police force has made no official comment on the possible link to the Rizzuto murder.
Experts have long predicted reprisals for the younger Rizzuto, who was only 42 years old when he was gunned down. His murder remains unsolved.
With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Montreal's Rob Lurie
