🔗 Share this article Shooting of Underworld Figure in Canadian Starbucks May Indicate Shift to Audacious Tactics, Report Criminologists The brazen daylight killing of a prominent Canadian crime boss inside a outlying Starbucks this week could signal a emerging, more volatile and brash climate when it comes to organised crime, observers say. Authority Gap Developing The arrests of suspected high-ranking, veteran members of the local underworld in June has likely resulted in a chasm – meaning emerging, less experienced gangs are striving to secure territory. Fatal Encounter Information Police said at a news conference that they were summoned to a Starbucks in the Montreal suburb at about 10.30am on Wednesday because of alerts of a gunfire inside the coffee shop. An individual was killed and two others were hurt. Targeted Person While police have not officially identified the target's name, several journalistic sources have reported the man fatally shot was a convicted narcotics dealer, forty, also known by an nickname. The man was the leader of a organization operating in the area. Official Statements The government representative commented: "Available information points to it being an event associated with organised crime." The local police chief told journalists that while he could not comment on the investigation, he is familiar with the man deceased due to his "criminal record". "This person is associated with underworld activities," he said. Past Record The targeted individual was first connected formally to criminal activity in fifteen years ago when police in Montreal apprehended him and several accomplices in a illegal substance investigation. He ultimately confessing on substance charges and was sentenced to a couple of years in prison. According to documents, the man was apprehended for a subsequent occasion in over a decade ago, again for illegal substance sales, and was afterwards handed to another 60 months in prison. Professional Assessment A academic specialist said that criminal organizations in the area used to be characterised around maintaining control over visible conflicts and depended on a established chain of command. An bold daylight murder at a public establishment indicates there may not be a major player enforcing rules – as aggression could affect business when it comes to narcotics distribution, commented the expert. Structural Collapse The expert stated it is conceivable that the organization which targeted the gang leader simply "were unconcerned" about the public display of aggression in order to eliminate their target. But the criminologist believes more likely is there has been a erosion of hierarchy and control within organised crime in Montreal, associated with substantial apprehensions of the alleged heads of the city's organized crime made in June. Key Detentions After a three-year investigation, law enforcement took into custody an suspected mafia leader and accused him with first-degree murder and other connected crimes. Current Situation The current apprehensions were seen as the final "final straw" for the established underworld hierarchy, commented the expert. It has created a vacuum that newer street gangs are attempting to take over. The latest incident is an sign of an volatile, changing environment, he said. "We're seeing kind of this abundance of small, not highly structured gangs ... that are competing for power," he remarked.