Stabbing victim on recovery

Pierrefonds resident Kevin Hamilton, 22, who was hospitalized after suffering three stab wounds on the corner of Pierrefonds Boulevard and Coulon Street last Saturday overnight at about 12:45 a.m., is safe and sound at home.

"He was just released from the hospital. He can't talk right now," said his mother as the two stepped out of a taxi cab at about 11:30 a.m. this Friday morning at the threshold of their suburban home. Though he wore a cast on one of his arms, Hamilton looked well as he was greeted by a younger relative who excitedly screamed his name at the door.

Exactly what transpired Saturday night remains unclear, although police and previous media reports suggest Hamilton was holding a party at his home before the stabbing occurred at the street corner nearby.

A local English Montreal daily reported the attackers, aged 16 and 17, were each given a different sentence at a Quebec Youth Court preliminary hearing earlier this week. The older of the two minors, whose names cannot be revealed due to age, is currently under house arrest. The younger one, who was allegedly holding the weapon, must remain in jail.

According to the same media report, a Montreal police detective-sergeant testified the two youths had previously been arrested in March 2007, when one of them had suggested an affiliation to the Bloodes of Cartierville street gang to witnesses.

Dominique Grenier, media relations officer for police Station 3, which covers Pierrefonds, confirmed the two youths have been linked to gang-related activities. "I can't tell you more," she said.