On the night of Aug. 10, Canadian youth took over the streets of Montreal North to protest the police shooting of 18-year-old Fredy Villanueva, a Honduran immigrant.
The outraged youth battled 500 riot police chanting, “The police are the murderers.” At least 12 of the protestors were arrested.
The shooting was a familiar story. The armed cops claimed they felt threatened by a small group of men hanging out in a park, so they drew their weapons.
However, witnesses say that the cops instigated the situation, harassing Villanueva’s brother and throwing him to the ground. The group of men walked over to see what was happening when the cops drew their weapons and started firing, killing one and injuring the rest.
Montreal North, a community of 84,000, is made up of mostly poor Black and Latino immigrants. As many other poor and oppressed communities, it suffers from a history of racist police brutality.
