MontrealThe suspect, a 33-year-old man, was arrested in Ottawa on Aug. 15, days after the festival, which took place the weekend prior. Police investigating 6 potential cases of needle intoxicationsMatthew Lapierre · CBC News · Posted: Sep 09, 2025 3:45 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours agoAn ÎleSoniq crowd pictured in 2022. Montreal police say they have arrested a man after six people reported being pricked, possibly by needles, without their knowledge during the festival this year. (îleSoniq/Facebook)Montreal police have arrested a suspect in connection with reports of needle intoxications at the ÎleSoniq music festival. The suspect, a 33-year-old man, was arrested in Ottawa on Aug. 15, days after the festival, which took place the weekend prior. Montreal police confirmed the suspect had been arrested and released on a promise to appear in court in April 2026.But a spokesperson for Quebec’s public prosecution service, the DPCP, said in a statement that they had no public information to share about the case.”Generally, information becomes public after the laying of charges,” the spokesperson said. In a media release in August, Montreal police said they were investigating six potential cases of needle intoxications that may have occurred at the electronic dance music festival the nights of Aug. 9 and 10. Some of the victims reported feeling dizzy after being pricked. Following the festival, some festivalgoers took to social media, saying they suspected they had been pricked. One police report involved a 22-year-old woman who told officers she felt a pinch while standing near one of the stages on Aug. 9. She reported feeling dizzy but declined going to the hospital, preferring to return to the festival, according to police.Pamela Binette, director of GRIP, a harm reduction and prevention group, was at ÎleSoniq with her team over the weekend in August. She said they assisted three people who reported being pricked and that they exhibited symptoms of fear and anxiety and experienced hyperventilation and panic over what happened.GRIP workers helped them calm down before referring them to the festival’s emergency services and the police on the ground. Binette said GRIP is present at many festivals across Quebec, but this was the first time they’d experienced this kind of incident. The reports at ÎleSoniq also followed similar ones at two other Quebec festivals earlier during the summer — and again later in the summer at the Festival des travailleurs in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Que. Provincial police have since arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with that incident. ABOUT THE AUTHORMatthew Lapierre is a digital journalist at CBC Montreal. He previously worked for the Montreal Gazette and the Globe and Mail. You can reach him at matthew.lapierre@cbc.ca.With files from Charlotte Lepage
Suspect arrested in Ottawa in connection with reports of needle intoxications at Montreal music festival
