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The audacious daylight killing of a prominent Montreal underworld figure inside a outlying Starbucks this week could suggest a emerging, more chaotic and reckless climate when it comes to criminal organizations, observers say.

Power Vacuum Emerging

The detentions of alleged top-level, older members of Montreal's mafia in June has potentially left a chasm – meaning newer, younger gangs are working to gain a foothold.

Violent Attack Details

Authorities said at a press briefing that they were called to a Starbucks in the Montreal suburb at about 10.30am on Wednesday because of reports of a gunfire inside the café. One man was murdered and two more individuals were injured.

Victim Identification

While investigators have not verified the target's name, various journalistic sources have said the man killed was a previously found guilty illegal substance distributor, four decades old, also known by an nickname. The person was the head of a criminal group operating in the area.

Official Statements

The Quebec's public security minister commented: "Available information suggests it being an incident associated with criminal organizations."

The area's top officer informed reporters that while he could not speak specifically on the case, he knows the man deceased due to his "notoriety". "The individual was associated with criminal networks," he said.

Previous Activities

The deceased was first connected formally to criminal activity in fifteen years ago when police in Montreal detained him and several accomplices in a narcotics distribution investigation. He eventually pleading guilty on substance charges and was given to 24 months in prison.

According to records, the person was apprehended for a later instance in 2009, again for illegal substance sales, and was afterwards handed to another half-decade in prison.

Expert Analysis

A academic specialist said that criminal organizations in the area used to be characterised around showing discretion over open confrontations and relied on a clear leadership system.

An audacious daylight murder at a popular café points to there may not be a controlling entity maintaining control – as violence could harm activities when it comes to narcotics distribution, commented the expert.

Control Loss

The professor stated it is possible that the group which eliminated the gang leader simply "were unconcerned" about the visible exhibition of violence in order to kill their target.

But the criminologist said more probable is there has been a decline of hierarchy and authority within underworld activities in Montreal, associated with significant detentions of the purported leaders of the city's organized crime made in June.

Leadership Arrests

After a multi-year inquiry, police arrested an alleged criminal organization head and indicted him with homicide and other connected offences.

Current Situation

The recent detentions were viewed as the last "decisive blow" for the long-standing organized crime, said the expert.

It has resulted in a vacuum that emerging urban organizations are striving to take over. The recent shooting is an sign of an unstable, changing environment, he explained.

"We're seeing kind of this abundance of lesser, not highly structured gangs ... that are vying for power," he concluded.