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The audacious midday assassination of a influential Quebec gang leader inside a outlying Starbucks this week could indicate a new, more chaotic and aggressive landscape when it comes to underworld activities, experts note.

Authority Gap Emerging

The apprehensions of alleged high-ranking, established members of the local underworld in June has potentially left a vacuum – meaning emerging, junior gangs are working to gain a foothold.

Violent Attack Information

Authorities reported at a media update that they were dispatched to a Starbucks in Laval, Quebec at about 10.30am on Wednesday because of alerts of a violent incident inside the coffee shop. A single individual was murdered and two more individuals were wounded.

Victim Identification

While authorities have not confirmed the target's name, various journalistic sources have said the man fatally shot was a sentenced illegal substance distributor, four decades old, also known by an street name. The individual was the leader of a gang operating in the area.

Authority Comments

The government representative commented: "All evidence suggests it being an event connected with criminal organizations."

The local police chief informed journalists that while he could not comment on the case, he recognizes the man deceased due to his "criminal record". "The individual was connected to organised crime," he noted.

Criminal History

The targeted individual was first linked formally to unlawful behavior in 2005 when police in Montreal apprehended him and six others in a narcotics distribution operation. He eventually pleading guilty on narcotics charges and was given to two years in prison.

According to reports, the individual was apprehended for a second time in over a decade ago, again for illegal substance sales, and was afterwards given to another 60 months in prison.

Expert Analysis

A university expert noted that underworld activities in the area used to be marked around exercising restraint over public violence and depended on a defined chain of command.

An bold public killing at a popular café indicates there may not be a major player enforcing rules – as conflict could impact activities when it comes to drug trafficking, said the specialist.

Organizational Breakdown

The analyst said it is conceivable that the group which eliminated the underworld figure simply "did not care" about the visible exhibition of aggression in order to eliminate their objective.

But the criminologist thinks more likely is there has been a loss of organization and authority within underworld activities in Montreal, connected with major apprehensions of the purported heads of local criminal networks made in June.

Major Apprehensions

After a multi-year probe, authorities took into custody an suspected mafia leader and accused him with killing and other associated offences.

Existing Conditions

The recent apprehensions were considered as the last "nail in the coffin" for the long-standing organized crime, said the specialist.

It has left a hole that newer urban organizations are striving to fill. The latest incident is an sign of an unstable, changing landscape, he noted.

"We have kind of this abundance of minor, not super well-organised gangs ... that are fighting for dominance," he remarked.