https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/...-guerre-pire-que-celle-des-annees-90.phpConflict between bikers and street gangs Quebec police fear war worse than that of the 1990s
The Quebec City Police Department is concerned about a "war" between outlaw bikers and their enemies that could be worse than the one between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine during the 1990s, according to an intelligence alert sent to other police forces and of which La Presse obtained a copy.
"Information from the criminal community indicates that the war between the BMHL [outlaw motorcycle gangs] and their opponents will increase in intensity in the coming days and could be worse than that experienced in the 1990s," we can read in this note written by the SPVQ.
"A proposal was made to the Hells Angels to find common ground, which they refused. They want to regain control of the territory and are organizing their response. Individuals linked to the bikers are armed and could attack any opponent, but also any person who was in the BMHL structure, but who did nothing to protect their image," continues the author of the SPVQ intelligence alert.
La Presse contacted the SPVQ, but a spokesperson told us that the police force would not make any comment regarding this alert.
The biker war of the 1990s (1994-2002), which pitted the Hells Angels against the Rock Machine, left 160 dead and as many injured. It led to the creation by the authorities of the Carcajou squad, and pushed the federal government to adopt the Gangsterism Act.
Police officers, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media, said they found the content of the SPVQ intelligence alert "clearly exaggerated," while on the other hand, we were told that the note was not addressed to the public and was not intended to be alarmist, but rather a warning for police officers to be careful and "watch their backs" when they intervene.
The note also calls on police officers to act with caution during their interventions. Officials ask them to write arrest sheets when they observe relevant facts, to write an informant report as soon as a source tells them about the ongoing conflict in eastern Quebec and to notify their supervisor of any findings related to this conflict.
A higher level
In any case, the violent conflict between the Hells Angels and independent traffickers, aided by Montreal street gangs, in several regions of eastern Quebec, reached another level Monday, when the charred body of a 14-year-old boy from Montreal was found behind the premises of the Hells Angels of Quebec, in Frampton, in Beauce.
It is believed that he and another 14-year-old boy from Montreal wanted to attack the bikers' club by setting it on fire and opening fire on the building.
According to the police, the two youths gravitated around a violent street gang in the east end of Montreal and the contract was given by an even more violent group whose most influential members are currently incarcerated.
According to some reports, members of the Hells Angels and their school clubs met on Thursday in a location in Bécancour, Mauricie, although it is not known whether this was linked to the conflict.
To reduce the pressure and reassure the population, the Sûreté du Québec police officers spent Friday in Frampton in an operation to collect information, but above all to increase visibility.
In the evening and into the night, more than 125 police officers from 25 different police forces will visit licensed establishments in Montreal, Quebec City and several other regions, with the aim of sending a "clear message" to individuals and gangs involved in this armed violence, and to reduce tension.
An attack gone wrong
SQ Crimes Against Persons investigators are continuing their investigation into the events during which the 14-year-old boy died behind the Hells Angels premises in Frampton.
The victim was burned all over his body, making identification difficult, but he also reportedly suffered other injuries. Shots were fired at the Hells Angels' premises and one of the most serious hypotheses is that the victim was hit by friendly or enemy fire, and that the Molotov cocktail he was allegedly holding in his hands ignited.
“We do not comment on an ongoing investigation,” Lieutenant Benoit Richard, spokesperson for the SQ, told us.
The latter did not want to say whether the burnt-out vehicle found near the bikers' premises was stolen, and whether it is possible that a third individual, this one an adult, could have accompanied the two teenagers.
At the time of writing, the coroner's office had not yet confirmed the official identity of the teenager.
