Jewellery Theft Surge, AI-Authored Book & Ebola Scare — Montreal Friday

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🚨 Crime & Public Safety

Montreal police link surge in jewellery-store thefts to minors as young as 13. Police recorded 46 jewellery-store thefts, armed robberies and break-ins in the first nine months of 2026, up from 15 in all of 2022, and say criminals are recruiting youth to commit robberies, arson and shootings by promising quick money; one Thursday incident involved a car driven through a store window around 12:30 p.m.
Man arrested in Playa del Carmen is wanted for a 2025 Montreal homicide. Montreal police say 22-year-old Gabriel Lavoie was arrested Thursday in Mexico and is wanted on a murder warrant in the March 14, 2025 stabbing death near Ontario and Saint-Germain streets; two other suspects, Dave Lambert-Chouinard and Valdano Saint-Hillien, were previously charged with manslaughter and the case remains under investigation.
STM again refuses permission for special constables to carry firearms or stun guns. The transit authority reiterated on Friday that its special constables will not be armed with guns or stun devices, maintaining current STM policy amid ongoing citywide safety discussions and recent transit-related incidents.

Québec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime admits AI generated 62% of his book. Duhaime said Friday he used AI to structure Destination Autonomie and that human supervision guided the process; Pangram detection software reported 62 per cent machine-generated content and the book’s introduction by candidate Maïté Blanchette-Vézina was reported as fully AI-generated.
CAQ leader Christine Fréchette says she will remain party leader even if she loses Trois-Rivières. Fréchette made the statement Friday amid an Oct. 5 provincial election campaign, telling reporters she will stay on as leader regardless of the riding result.
Quebec party leaders push into final campaign stretch ahead of Oct. 5 vote. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon sought a majority for the Parti Québécois on Thursday while Québec solidaire’s Ruba Ghazal urged voters against strategic voting as leaders targeted tight ridings with days to go before the Oct. 5 election.
Men outnumber women nearly 2:1 among Quebec candidates aged 60 and over. Élections Québec data show 104 men versus 58 women among candidates 60-plus, while women make up 42.6% of all candidates in the provincial election, a disparity noted by parity advocates.
Montreal hospital isolated a patient exhibiting Ebola-like symptoms on Friday. Hospital officials placed the patient in isolation for assessment and infection-control measures on Friday while public-health teams investigate symptoms consistent with Ebola.

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