Residents evacuated from their homes

It all began late Monday, when in an inebriated state the 63-year-old suspect Gregorios Scalazo, a man from Pont-Viau, received a visit from his Italian nephew.

For reasons unknown to police, the man suddenly pointed a firearm at his visitor right before threatening to kill him. The nephew tried to contact Scalazo's son in an effort to have him calm his father, but the efforts were in vain. He finally managed to escape the apartment and contacted the Laval police.

Upon their arrival towards midnight the police quickly evacuated neighboring homes to protect the safety of nearby residents.

"A policeman knocked on my door in the middle of the night at asked me to get my family outside at once, without explanation," said Christian Létourneau, owner of a nearby home. "We quickly got dressed and followed the policeman, who made us walk through the backyards of other homes and jump fences. We then found ourselves on a bus along with other neighbors."

It was only once on the bus that the evacuated residents received some explanation.

"They explained to us that a man had barricaded himself inside his home and that for our security, we could not stay in our houses." said M. Létourneau. They didn't tell us how long we would have to stay. Personally, I had to cancel my children's school day."