Daughter-in-law of Montreal Mafia figure shot dead in parking lot

The daughter-in-law of Montreal Mafia member Moreno Gallo was killed in a targeted shooting in the parking lot of her beauty salon on Tuesday, Radio-Canada is reporting.

Multiple sources tell Radio-Canada that a gunman shot Claudia Iacono five times at 4:30 p.m. after waiting for her to enter the parking lot of her beauty salon, Salon Deauville, in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough.

Montreal police say when they arrived on the scene, they found a woman with gunshot wounds inside her car.

"When the victim was hit by bullets, her vehicle was in motion and collided with a building," said Montreal police spokesperson Const. Sabrina Gauthier.

Witnesses told police the shooter ran away after opening fire, police say.

Police would not confirm the victim's age or identity. Gauthier said the victim was declared dead at the scene.

Hit may have crossed a line

Iacono was the wife of Anthony Gallo. Anthony's father, Moreno Gallo, was killed in Mexico in 2013.

Iacono was not involved in criminal activities, according to Radio-Canada sources.

Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher told reporters Wednesday morning that the city is still "very safe" despite the shooting taking place in broad daylight.

Although Dagher called the timing of the shooting "concerning," he said "it's not dangerous to be out at all because it was targeted."

"We cannot prevent all the revenge from organized crime," he said.

He added that it is too early to say more about the investigation, but he expects to see some kind of retaliation within the underworld. 

"If it's connected to organized crime, it's one of the first times that we see a woman being targeted," he said. "We are looking into it to find out why it happened to that person, to that woman."

André Gélinas, a retired sergeant from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM)'s criminal intelligence unit, said wives are rarely targeted in Mafia attacks.

"One thing is certain, we have just crossed a line by killing the spouse. Now, this limit will be crossed by criminal organizations," he said. "It just sent the message that no one is untouchable anymore. Not even Mafia wives."

Valérie Plante, the mayor of Montreal, told reporters on Wednesday that the shooting is "extremely troubling."

"When we speak to the SPVM, what they tell us is that organized crime is changing," she said. "But clearly it's more and more true because certain codes, for them too, the code for criminals, changes. Obviously it worries us."

Her beauty salon was targeted

SPVM police officers had previously met Iacono in early 2015 after her salon had been the target of a Molotov cocktail attack, Radio-Canada sources said.

The salon parking lot is located near the intersection of Jean-Talon and de la Savane streets, an area known as the "Triangle."

Radio-Canada reports the attack was perceived at the time as a message to her husband, Anthony Gallo, and brother-in-law Moreno Gallo Jr., who were involved in organized crime.

Police have made no arrests so far and are speaking with more witnesses.

Major crime investigators and forensic identification technicians were also called to the scene.