Montreal police marked the 30th anniversary Wednesday of the unsolved killing of one of their colleagues, Const. André Lalonde, who was shot during a routine traffic stop in the West Island community of Senneville.
Lalonde was 51 and two months away from retirement.
Const. André Lalonde’s widow Nicole Lalonde watches the cortège pass by on Senneville Rd. at Elmwood Ave. on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal GazetteNicole Lalonde lays flowers on the commemorative stone honouring her husband, Const. André Lalonde, in Senneville on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
A 29-year veteran of the Montreal police, Lalonde was working alone when he stopped a motorist, identified as a man in his 20s, for a loud muffler shortly after 10 a.m. on April 29, 1996.
As he got out of his patrol car, he was shot three times at close range.
Const. André Lalonde’s daughter Nathalie Lalonde (with blond hair and glasses), his widow Nicole Lalonde (in pale blue coat) and son Patrick Lalonde watch the cortège pass by on Senneville Rd. at Elmwood Ave. on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal GazetteThe Montreal police cortège in honour of slain Const. André Lalonde pauses at Senneville Rd. and Elmwood Ave. in Senneville on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal GazetteNicole Lalonde listens to tributes to her husband, Const. André Lalonde, on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
A passerby who witnessed the shooting used the police radio in Lalonde’s car to call for help, but it took around 16 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
No one was ever charged in connection with the killing.
Const. André Lalonde’s daughter Nathalie Lalonde (with blond hair and glasses), his widow Nicole Lalonde (in pale blue coat) and son Patrick Lalonde watch the cortège pass by on Senneville Rd. at Elmwood Ave. on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal GazetteConst. André Lalonde’s widow Nicole Lalonde and son Patrick Lalonde watch the cortège pass by on Senneville Rd. at Elmwood Ave. on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal GazetteA 1996-era police car passes the family of Const. André Lalonde on Senneville Rd. on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, during the Montreal police’s memorial honouring Lalonde, who was killed 30 years ago. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
The vehicle stopped by Lalonde was later found in Parc-Extension. The car, which had been stolen in Laval a month earlier, had been set on fire and abandoned.
Lalonde was survived by his wife and two adult children.
Const. André Lalonde’s widow Nicole Lalonde is comforted by son Patrick Lalonde during the Montreal police’s memorial event in Senneville on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal GazetteMontreal police held a ceremony in Senneville on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 to mark the 30th anniversary of the unsolved killing of Const. André Lalonde. Dave Sidaway / Montreal GazetteConst. André Lalonde was killed in the line of duty in Senneville on April 29, 1996. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette