LAVAL - A man police are saying likely had mob ties was shot and killed very early Wednesday morning in Laval.

Ennio Bruni, 36, was an associate of the Rizzuto crime family.

He was gunned down at around 3:15 a.m. in a shopping centre parking lot just outside Cafe Bellerose on Bellerose Blvd. E.

Bruni was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.

Witnesses saw a car quickly fleeing the scene of the shooting and alerted the police, who intercepted the vehicle at the corner of Blvd. des Laurentides and Highway 440.

The driver was arrested and taken back to the police station for questioning.

Police are also questioning a witness who originally fled the scene, but he is not considered a suspect.

Bruni was also the target of a murder attempt last year in Laval.

During the Projet Colisee crackdown on mob operations Bruni was named as a money runner for the Rizzuto family. He was also a bodyguard for an alleged bookmaker and mafia underboss.

With files from Canadian Press