A Boustan Location Was Firebombed Overnight

If you thought everyone loved Montreal shawarma favourite Boustan, it appears you are wrong. The Notre-Dame-de-Grâce location of the Crescent Street original (open since January) was targeted in a molotov cocktail attack overnight.

According to CBC Montreal, police spotted the fire around 1:20 a.m., apparently by chance, as they were on their way to another call. The window of the Sherbrooke Street restaurant (near Grand) had also been broken.

A 28-year-old man and 39-year-old woman were both arrested near the scene as part of the police’s arson investigation into the incident.

Damage was minor but Boustan stayed closed to make repairs this morning — a Facebook update suggests the restaurant should be open later today.

Such firebombings are (disappointingly) not terribly uncommon in Montreal — Rosemont bar Pot Masson had to deal with two in one week in December.

The usual rumbling is that they’re connected to organized crime, although unsurprisingly nobody is jumping at the opportunity to take responsibility — but courtesy of the very handy firebombing map below, it’s notable that they are a rarity in NDG. The map suggests it’s the only such incident in the neighbourhood to be recorded since 2009.

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• Holiday Season Molotov Cocktails Break Two Restaurants’ Windows, Hearts [EMTL]
• Boustan NDG [Facebook]