Crown says two men accused ‘shot to kill’ in drive-by that left Montreal teen dead

MONTREAL — The two men charged with murdering a 15-year-old girl in a drive-by shooting in Montreal in 2021 shot to kill even though they hit the wrong target, a Crown prosecutor told a jury on Thursday.

Prosecutor Simon Lapierre suggested the accused, Salim Touaibi and Aymane Bouadi, drove to a parking lot on Feb. 7, 2021, to avenge a friend who had been hurt in a fight a day earlier as part of an ongoing conflict between two family-owned businesses.

“Without hesitating, they shot to kill, minimum eight times,” he said.

One of those bullets fatally struck 15-year-old Meriem Boundaoui as she sat in the passenger seat of a car, Lapierre said. “Ultimately, they made a mistake. They killed the wrong person. They killed a young woman who had nothing to do with their story.”

The Superior Court trial at Montreal’s courthouse has heard that Boundaoui was sitting in the passenger seat of a Volkswagen Jetta in Montreal’s St-Léonard borough when a white Mercedes with two men inside pulled up and one of them opened fire.

Both Bouadi and Touaibi are charged with first-degree murder in her death, as well as the attempted murder of several people standing nearby.

Touaibi has said he was the shooter, but testified he didn’t realize Boundaoui or anyone else was in the Jetta when he shot at it. His lawyer suggested to the jury earlier this week that his client had fired toward the Jetta because he was afraid of being shot and wanted to scare others nearby. Touaibi should be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, his lawyer said.

Bouadi’s lawyer, who delivered closing arguments earlier Thursday, argued his client was just a passenger in the Mercedes and should be acquitted.

However, Lapierre told the jury it doesn’t matter which man pulled the trigger, and that both are equally culpable as long they knowingly participated, encouraged or helped in committing the crime.

“The accused participated in the infractions. That has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Lapierre said of both men.

The Crown has said Boundaoui was caught in the crossfire of a dispute between businesses that originated in arguments over parking spots. One family, the Rekiks, owned a barbershop on Jean-Talon Street while the other, the Bensalems, owned a grocery store across from it. The accused were friends with the Bensalem family, and had targeted the Rekik family the day of the shooting, Lapierre alleged.

“The fact that they missed their target doesn’t mean they didn’t have the required intention to be found guilty of murder, or attempted murder,” he said.

Earlier, Bouadi’s lawyer told the jury his client was only a “passive” presence riding in the Mercedes’ passenger seat when Boundaoui was killed. “There is not one iota of evidence that Aymane Bouadi knew there was a gun in the car. It doesn’t exist,” said Martin Latour, who said his client has no criminal record.

Latour said Bouadi had only gone with his friend to get food, and was in a “total panic” after Touaibi pulled out a gun and shot past his head out the passenger side window. Latour also sought to address testimony of witnesses who told the court they thought the gunfire had come from the Mercedes’ passenger side, where Bouadi was sitting, suggesting they weren’t in a position to see clearly.

“It lasted two, three seconds, it was dark,” he said. “And then from the moment you see the gun and it goes pow, pow pow … it’s hard to imagine the trauma someone went through, seeing gun flashes,” he said.

Latour said most of the bullet casings as well as gunpowder residue were found inside the car, suggesting the shots had been fired from the driver’s side. He added that there’s no reason not to believe Touaibi when he said he pulled the trigger. “He’s hard not to believe, he’s incriminating himself,” the lawyer said.

He said Bouadi was so panicked after the shooting that he tried to get out of the car while it was driving on the highway. Latour said the Crown has failed to prove that his client committed or helped to commit a premeditated murder or attempted murder, and stressed to the jury that they must acquit if there is reasonable doubt.

“If you think he’s probably guilty … it’s not enough,” he said.

During his closing, Lapierre suggested to the jury that they should not believe the testimony of either accused. He reviewed cellphone and GPS data that he said suggested Bouadi was a participant in the events leading up to the shooting, contrary to Bouadi’s claim.

Lapierre’s closing arguments continue Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2026.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press