Salim Touaibi guilty of murder in drive-by shooting of Montreal teen

Salim Touaibi has been found guilty of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder in the drive-by shooting of a teenager in Montreal in 2021.

His co-accused, Aymane Bouadi, who was inside the car when Touaibi fired the shots, has been acquitted of all charges.

The Superior Court trial heard that Meriem Boundaoui, 15, was sitting in the passenger seat of a Volkswagen Jetta in Montreal’s St-Léonard borough on Feb. 7, 2021, when a white Mercedes with two men inside pulled up and one of them opened fire, hitting her fatally in the head.

The death of high school student shook Quebec’s Algerian community and prompted wider calls for stronger measures to stop gun violence. Montreal’s mayor and police chief later announced a new police unit targeting gun traffickers in the wake of her death and that of two other teens the same year.

Over the course of a trial spanning more than two months, the jury heard that Boundaoui was a bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught in the crossfire of a conflict between two family businesses that did not concern her.

Touaibi said on the stand that he was the shooter, but testified he didn’t realize Boundaoui or anyone else was in the Jetta when he shot at it. He acknowledged being aware of the conflict between family businesses, but said his involvement was limited to trying to act as a peacemaker.

Bouadi’s lawyer argued during closing arguments that his client was just a “passive” passenger in the Mercedes who had gone to get food with his friend and should be acquitted. He said his client was aware of the conflict between groups but not involved.

The two men were arrested days apart by Montreal police in June 2022.