Umiujaq youth faces attempted murder, assault charges following stand-off

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder and assault causing bodily harm after an altercation with police last weekend in the Nunavik community of Umiujaq.

The boy is still recovering in Montreal hospital from a gunshot wound, after he was shot by police during the June 13 incident.

The youth remains in stable condition at the hospital, where he appeared by videoconference in front of a judge to hear his charges June 18, said a Montreal police spokesperson, Raphael Bergeron.

Montreal’s police service is investigating the incident, which involved members of Quebec’s Sûreté du Québec.

Police first responded to a call to a home in Umiujaq June 12 around 9:30 p.m. to reports that the 17-year-old had assaulted another person.

When police arrived, the youth is alleged to have fired at them. At that point, the boy barricaded himself inside a residence.

The SQ then brought in its SWAT team to Umiujaq June 13 to surround the home.

Police say the suspect fired at police again later that evening, at which point an officer shot back, hitting the youth at least once in the upper chest.

As required by Quebec law, any time someone is injured or killed during a police intervention, an outside force must be called in to investigate, as Montreal police investigators are doing in this case.