The father of Quebecois middleweight boxer David Lemieux was a murder victim of a 24-hour shooting spree that took place last Tuesday night in Montreal.

Police found the body of a 64-year-old man around 9:45 p.m. near a park in the St-Laurent borough of Quebec.

André Lemieux was identified by Montreal police as the victim. He was declared dead at the scene and was reportedly shot at least once in the upper body.

Less than an hour later, another man with gunshot wounds was found dead in a Montreal borough. Not long after, another body turned up nearby, leading to strong speculation by Montreal police that the shootings were carried out by the same person.

Lemieux, the former IBF middleweight titlist, confirmed the news last Wednesday when he uploaded a post on his Instagram with a picture of his father accompanied by the caption “R.I.P. dad.”

According to the boxer, his father was waiting for the bus.

“To learn that your father died by being shot while waiting for the bus is quite a shock,” Lemieux told Le Journal de Montréal. “Everyone in the family is shaken.”

Last Thursday, Montreal police killed alleged suspect 26-year-old Abdulla Shaikh, who appears to have suffered from mental health issues and had apparently chosen his victims at random.  

The shootings are a part of an uptick in gun violence in Montreal. The week before, two teenagers were found dead from a shooting incident in the city. Last Friday, in response to the murder of Andre Lemieux, et al., it was announced that the federal government of Canada would be providing $41.8 to Quebec to combat gun violence.

Lemieux (43-5, 36 KOs), known for his punching power, won the IBF middleweight title in 2015 with a unanimous decision over Hassan N’Dam. He has come up short in title opportunities against Gennadiy Golovkin and Billy Joe Saunders.

Lemieux, 33, was last seen in the ring suffering a third-round stoppage at the hands of David Benavidez in their super middleweight fight at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.