It took about 20 minutes for a procession of mourners to walk from a police station in Longueuil, Que., to the location where 15-year-old Nooran Rezayi was killed.
A year earlier, surveillance video released by his family’s lawyers appeared to show Rezayi was shot within seconds of police arriving at the scene.
When the group of about a dozen people reached the site Monday evening, Rezayi’s mother, Fahima Rezayi, clutched a small framed photograph of her son and screamed: “Justice for my son.”
The crowd then fell quiet for a minute of silence at the place where the teenager was killed on Sept. 21, 2025.
The vigil brought family, friends and supporters together on Montreal’s South Shore to mark a year without him — and a year spent waiting to learn whether the police officer who shot him will face criminal charges.
Many of those gathered outside the police station in Longueuil’s Saint-Hubert borough were dressed in black. Conversations were subdued, often little more than whispers, as the family stood together before beginning the walk.
Rezayi’s relatives occasionally embraced one another and wore white T-shirts bearing a photograph of the teenager smiling and giving a thumbs-up, alongside the words “Justice for Nooran.”
Family, friends and supporters of 15 year-old Nooran Rezayi march from a Service de Police de l’Agglomeration de Longueuil station to the site where he was killed, during a protest and vigil held in his honour, in Longueuil, Que., on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
Nearby, several young people stood apart from the crowd wearing masks with messages calling for justice.
One person carried a sign reading “Nooran means light.” Another read “Forever 15.” Behind them, a large banner called for an end to police violence.
Rezayi’s sister, Frozan Rezayi, struggled through tears as she described her brother as “the light of our home, of our days,” and said he would remain the light of their hearts.
“He was a son, a brother, a cousin, a friend, a nephew, a child,” she told the crowd. “A child who brought joy everywhere he went.”
She remembered a teenager who liked making people laugh and smile, and who had dreams, plans and years of life still ahead of him.
“How has it already been a year since they took my brother’s life? And there are still no answers,” she said.
Family, friends and supporters of 15 year-old Nooran Rezayi march from a Service de Police de l’Agglomération de Longueuil station to the site where he was killed by police, during a protest and vigil held in his honour, in Longueuil, Que., on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
A year after Rezayi’s death, the central question for his family remains unresolved: whether the officer who shot him will face criminal charges.
Rezayi was killed after Longueuil police responded to a 911 call reporting a group of allegedly armed youths in a residential neighbourhood in Saint-Hubert.
Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, later said the only firearm seized at the scene belonged to the officer who shot Rezayi. Investigators also seized a baseball bat, a backpack and ski masks.
A supporter of 15 year-old Nooran Rezayi, who was killed last year by police, takes a moment alone during a vigil held in his honour, in Longueuil, Que., on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
The police watchdog completed its investigation in March and submitted its report to Quebec prosecutors, who must determine whether criminal charges should be laid.
Speaking at the vigil, family lawyer Fernando Belton said the lack of answers a year after the shooting has left Rezayi’s relatives living with uncertainty.
Belton told the crowd that the young people had been sitting on a sidewalk with their phones when police arrived and that Rezayi was shot within seconds. “Today, it is time to say: enough,” he said.
Belton said Rezayi’s death has also left other young people wondering about their own safety during encounters with police. “I think of every one of these young people who ask themselves, ‘Will I be next?’” he said.
He also spoke of parents fearing for their children when they leave home.
“I think of the mothers who have to send their child to school and who are forced to tell them, ‘Please, my boy, come back. Come back alive,’” Belton said.
He told Rezayi’s relatives their legal team would continue seeking answers. “We’re going to fight until the end to get justice for Nooran,” he said.
The shooting has led to several parallel proceedings. Six members of Rezayi’s family have filed a $2.2-million civil lawsuit against the City of Longueuil and its police force. The lawsuit alleges officers used unreasonable and disproportionate force. The allegations have not been tested in court.
The Quebec government has also launched an administrative investigation into the Longueuil police service over its actions following the shooting.
The police watchdog was notified of the shooting one hour and 36 minutes after it occurred. Documents released by Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier also indicated that Longueuil officers continued questioning witnesses at the scene.
Longueuil police have maintained their actions and the delay were justified under the circumstances.
Meanwhile, Montreal police conducted a separate criminal investigation into the alleged events preceding Rezayi’s death.
Eleven young people were charged in June, but prosecutors stayed the proceedings in August after obtaining new evidence that raised what they described as a complex legal issue. None of the charges involved possession of a firearm or harm to another person.
As the vigil returned to the place where her brother died, Frozan Rezayi urged those around her to keep saying his name.
“We are here to speak for Nooran, so that he is remembered,” she said. “So that his name continues to be heard.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.
— with files from Erika Morris and Morgan Lowrie in Montreal
By Charlotte Glorieux | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
