Killings: Let’s get a grip

Sophie Durocher is calling the recent spate of homicides a living nightmare, certain journalists always keen to exploit a statistical anomaly for a headline.

Police say the brawl that ended with three young men dead wasn’t gang‑related and may have begun with a fight over a broken romance. So –

May 12 – Homeless man beaten, probably by another homeless man, Mile End
May 14 – Probable gang shooting, Ahuntsic
May 18 – Stabbing in what’s been described as a dispute between neighbours in St‑Henri
May 18 – Stabbing, woman apparently attacked by ex, St‑Michel
May 21 – Stabbings when two parties of young men engaged in a brawl, mid‑Plateau

There are parts of bigger patterns here – gang and domestic violence incidents – but the seven deaths over the last few days are unrelated to each other and don’t constitute a cohesive threat to civil order.