Montreal police say they are suspending the search for a young man who fell through the ice of the des Prairies river in the city’s West Island on Thursday.

Jean-Pierre Brabant says police divers as well as officers in boats and on foot have searched the river and its banks in recent days without locating the missing 18-year-old.

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The college student was walking with a friend on the river in the l’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève borough when the ice gave way beneath their feet.

One of the young men was pulled from the river and taken to hospital, and police said his life was not in danger.

The 18-year-old was swept away by the current.

Brabant says officers might resume the search in the coming days, especially along the river’s banks.

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.

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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.

Montreal police say they plan to track complaints against officers involving discrimination or racism.

Chief Fady Dagher says the new centralized database will allow the force to better monitor allegations against officers throughout their careers, and improve accountability across the organization.

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The new system is part of the police’s five-year anti-racism plan Dagher announced today.

As well, Dagher says the force has new guidelines for officers that he says will reduce instances of racial profiling, but he didn’t give details.

Dagher says he wants to eliminate instances of discrimination involving officers by 2030.

He also plans to organize assemblies where officers and members of the public can talk and get to know each other better.

Montreal police say they are conducting searches in an investigation connected to the death of a teenager shot dead by police on the city’s South Shore.

Nooran Rezayi, 15, was killed by Longueuil police after officers responded to a 911 call on Sept. 21 about a group of allegedly armed youth in a residential neighbourhood.

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The shooting is being investigated by the province’s police watchdog — Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes — which has said the only gun seized at the scene belonged to the officer who shot the teen.

Montreal police are conducting a parallel investigation into the events that led to Longueuil police being called on the group of young people.

The searches are taking place in several communities on the South Shore including Beloeil, Brossard, Candiac, Longueuil, and St-Philippe.

Rezayi’s family said in December they filed a $2.2-million civil lawsuit against Longueuil police, saying the use of force against the teenager was unreasonable and disproportionate.