Crown prosecutors are challenging the testimony of two men on trial for the murder of 15-year-old Meriem Boundaoui in Saint-Leonard on Feb. 7, 2021.
Aymane Bouadi, 30, testified in his defence Tuesday that he had no idea his co-accused Salim Touaibi, also 30, would pull out a gun and open fire that day.
Bouadi’s testimony during cross-examination matches Touaibi’s, who earlier in the trial confessed to pulling the trigger, claiming he thought the vehicle Boundaoui was sitting in was empty.
That account of the shooting – particularly with regard to the men’s intentions that day – was challenged by the prosecution on Tuesday.
“You intended to kill the Rekik brothers, but you killed a 15-year-old girl,” prosecutor Simon Lapierre reportedly told Bouadi.
Lapierre also intimated Bouadi was the shooter, contrary to Touabi’s confession.
“That’s completely false,” Bouadi reportedly replied. “I know I didn’t do anything.”
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The trial has heard the shooting was part of a parking dispute between two nearby businesses on Jean-Talon Street – a bakery and a hair salon – owned by the Rekik and Bensalem families.
On the day of the murder, friends Bouadi and Touaibi drove into a parking lot in the area and encountered a group gathered around a Volkswagen Jetta. Touaibi reportedly rolled down the passenger window to talk to them.
After the shooting, Touaibi reportedly told Bouadi he opened fire in self-defence because he was afraid the group would fire on them.
Touaibi and Bouadi were both charged with first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder. They were in their mid-20s at the time of the shooting.
