Police find burnt-out car believed to be linked to daylight Starbucks shooting in Laval, Que.

quebec city provincial law say a gondola found on discharge in Montreal's eastward end early Thursday morning is believed to be linked to a brazen daytime shooting at a Starbucks in Laval, Que., that claimed the life of a key organized crime figure and injured two others.

Montreal police say they found the car on fire at around 3 a.m. In Montreal's borough of Rivière-des-Prairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles, near the intersection of Clément-Ader and Joliot Curie avenues.

Radio-Canada is reporting that it has viewed surveillance footage that shows two suspects arriving at the scene a few minutes before the shooting and then driving off in a grey sedan.

It's not yet known if the car that was found on fire in Montreal is the car seen in that footage.

Meanwhile, a command post was set up Thursday near the scene of the shooting. 

Fear, concerns linger after fatal daylight shooting of organized crime figure in Laval, Que., café

Following a 911 call at around 10:30 a.m. On Wednesday, Laval police rushed to the coffee shop, which is located inside a strip mall that was packed with people at the time.

Radio-Canada sources have confirmed that the man who died was Charalambos Theologou, also known as Bobby the Greek. The two people injured in the shooting were members of his gang, the Chomedey Greeks.

On Thursday, teams with Laval police and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) were intensifying their search for potential suspects in the deadly shooting.

The command post is set up near the intersection of 100th Avenue and the Highway 440 service road.

In an interview with Radio-Canada's Tout un matin program Thursday morning, Pierre Brochet, who is Laval's police chief, said the shooting was "clearly linked to organized crime," echoing what the province's public security minister said a day earlier.

''I'm still shocked. This sort of event is unacceptable,'' Brochet said.

He added that the joint investigation with the SQ was ''progressing well" and that investigative teams that include organized crime specialists would be deployed to "strategic areas."

Social workers were also expected to be present in the area to lend psychological support to staff at the busy strip mall.

In reference to the brazen nature of the shooting, Brochet alluded to changes in organized crime culture in recent years, which has led to what he described as "an excessive disregard for human life."

Christopher Skeete, the provincial minister responsible for the Laval region, told reporters on Thursday he was monitoring the situation closely.

"It's not normal that street gangs treat our home like it's their territory and fight with each other on a daily basis," the minister said. 

Laval, Que., shooting leaves organized crime figure dead, 2 others injured

Written by Antoni Nerestant, based on a report by Radio-Canada's Annie-Marie Lecomte

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