A police response to an assault near the OSHEAGA music festival site on Île Sainte-Hélène took a rather unusual turn at around 4 a.m. on Saturday morning.
“Upon arrival, police officers located a man who fled and jumped into the waters of the St. Lawrence River,” confirmed Jean-Pierre Brabant, spokesperson for the Montreal Police Service (SPVM).
“Several resources were deployed by Montreal police officers to try to locate the man in question,” he said.
The man was finally located about three and a half hours later, safe and sound.
“At around 7:40 a.m., security guards on Île Sainte-Hélène located the man in question on the neighboring Île Notre-Dame. Police officers conducted checks and were able to confirm that the man in question was indeed the one they were looking for,” said the SPVM spokesperson.
The 26-year-old man was “transported to an investigation center,” where he was to be questioned by police during the day “to determine his involvement in the assault” that occurred a few hours earlier.
A security perimeter was set up in the area to facilitate the work of investigators and analyze the scene with forensic technicians.
However, the SPVM spokesperson assured that this would not disrupt the OSHEAGA festivities, where tens of thousands of festival-goers are expected over the three days of the event, starting on Friday.
“As for the festivities, we’re talking about Osheaga and La Ronde, there will be no interference with the festivities. The perimeter is confined to a certain area on Sainte-Hélène Island, and there will be no interference with the festivities during the day,” said Officer Jean-Pierre Brabant.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
