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Witness recounts man in camouflage walking past his store with a long gun
What you need to know:
A civilian, a police officer and a suspect are dead following shootings in Montreal’s west-end Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood late Monday morning. Another police officer was injured.
An “armed threat” alert issued for the Côte-des-Neiges area was lifted around 3:15 p.m. as “the immediate threat to the public is no longer present.”
Although officers on the scene initially told The Gazette they were searching for a possible second suspect, Montreal police chief Fady Dagher later said he believes there was only one suspect involved in the shootings.
“We preferred to enlarge all of the crime scenes to be sure that we had the situation completely controlled,” Dagher said at a press conference Monday afternoon.
“The threat is controlled, safe,” he added. “So the community is safe.”
Montreal police identified the dead officer as Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane. The dead civilian was identified as 68-year-old Michel Mizrahi.
The terrifying string of events began around 11:35 a.m. Monday. Police were called to the scene near the intersection of Trans Island and de Courtrai Aves. in the city’s Snowdon district.
Active shooter in Montreal pic.twitter.com/7sTyDmsbAL
Although the precise sequence of events is not yet clear, Montreal police confirmed Monday afternoon that a civilian had been killed, in addition to Benredouane and the suspected shooter. Police said a long gun was used in the shooting.
A second officer, a woman, was injured but is in stable condition.
Quebec’s domestic security minister, Ian Lafrenière, himself a former Montreal police officer, would not comment on unconfirmed reports that the shooter was from Alberta, adhered to the incel ideology and left behind an anti-feminist manifesto.
The shooter was identified Tuesday by the coroner as Seth Scott Hatfield, 25, of Lethbridge, Alta. The Gazette has obtained a copy of a manifesto authored by Hatfield, which espouses violent incel ideology and calls for murder and other violent acts to be committed. The Gazette has made an editorial decision not to link to the manifesto, to avoid amplifying the message.
Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), is investigating Monday’s events.
C’est avec une immense tristesse que nous confirmons le décès de l’un de nos policiers dans l’exercice de ses fonctions. D’autres détails suivront. pic.twitter.com/2KX1DFIXuY
Jean-Pierre Maca, the manager of a paint store on Décarie Blvd., told The Gazette he heard several gunshots coming from the direction of the nearby Hilton Hotel on Monday.
“There seemed to be someone shooting in all directions, and I think he shot a police officer,” Maca said.
Police officers quickly swarmed the area, he said, and told passersby to hide inside the store and close the doors.
“It was frightening,” Maca said.
Witness Valerie Krief said she and her son were leaving a dentist appointment around 11:45 a.m. at the Décarie Square shopping mall when they heard what they initially believed were construction noises coming from across the street.
“We saw a glass break from the building across where the shooting was happening,” Krief told The Gazette. “We saw people running from the street onto the parking lot where we were, and some people were hiding under their cars.”
“One person was yelling, ‘There’s a shooter. There’s shooting. Go back in the mall,’” she added.
Krief said she and her son decided against entering an underground parking garage and instead warned others away from the area.
“We were stopping people from going into the parking lot,” she said. Krief estimated she heard six or seven gunshots.
Another witness, who asked to remain anonymous because of safety concerns, caught part of the shooting on camera and shared the footage with The Gazette.
He said he heard more than a dozen gunshots before he started recording, adding that he saw one man shooting into ground-floor businesses near the hotel.
Mordy Aisenstark, the manager of nearby kosher restaurant Broadway Pizza, told The Gazette he was refilling a coffee machine when he heard the first gunshots.
Moments later, a man rushed into the restaurant seeking cover as a gunman in camouflage-style clothing carrying what appeared to be a rifle moved past the storefront, Aisenstark recounted.
“There were five people in the store,” he said, adding he led customers and staff through a rear exit into the building’s garage and up a staircase to safety, eventually joining others sheltering elsewhere in the complex.
The gunman did not shoot at his store, Aisenstark said.
From an upper-floor window, he said he later saw the suspected gunman lying on the ground while officers administered first aid to an injured woman nearby. He also noticed shattered glass at the entrance to the hotel.
The group remained sheltered for about four hours before authorities lifted the armed-threat alert and allowed people to leave.
The “armed threat” alert was issued for the Côte-des-Neiges area around 12:30 p.m. Monday, advising people to “shelter indoors, lock the doors, stay away from windows and follow instructions of local authorities.”
The Décarie Expressway was closed in both directions for much of the afternoon, reopening shortly before 4 p.m.
Businesses in the area, such as the Supermarché PA grocery store, were placed under lockdown.
“Police officers showed up at our entrance because, obviously out of precaution, they have to secure the entire perimeter. And they broke the front entrance of the store,” said Supermarché PA spokesperson Nicholas Erimos.
“They went through our entire store, they made everyone get down on the ground” and leave their baskets behind, he added. Police then ordered everyone in the store to go to the loading dock area in the back, since there are no windows nearby.
“We gave them food. We gave them water. I mean, it’s not a fun situation to be in, but you don’t choose whether or not this situation happens to you,” Erimos said.
St. Joseph’s Oratory was also closed to visitors out of an abundance of caution, a representative confirmed.
Although the neighbourhood-wide lockdown was lifted around 3:15 p.m., an officer at the scene told The Gazette that verifications were still being carried out in the area.
Heavily armoured police officers were seen evacuating a parking lot across from Décarie Square.
The officer killed in the shootout was identified Monday evening as Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane.
“It is with profound sadness that we confirm the tragic death of Constable Mohamed Lamine Benredouane while on duty protecting the public,” Montreal police said in a statement.
Earlier Monday, Dagher had described Benredouane as a dedicated officer. He said he had met him twice before.
The police chief also said he visited the wounded officer in hospital and confirmed her condition had improved from critical to stable.
It is the first time since 2002 that a Montreal police officer has died in the line of duty, he said.
Benoît L’Écuyer, a 29-year-old officer, was fatally shot on Feb. 28, 2002, after chasing a suspect, the driver of a car that failed to stop.
“When you become a police officer, you know the risks. But you never expect something like this to happen,” Dagher said.
The civilian who was killed in Monday’s shootings was identified as Michel Mizrahi, 68.
Rabbi Mendel Raskin told The Gazette he had been Mizrahi’s rabbi for more than 30 years at Beth Chabad in Côte-St-Luc.
“Everybody loved him,” Raskin said, describing Mizrahi as a generous Jewish man who sold suits for a living. He said Mizrahi was originally from Lebanon, had moved to Israel and later settled in Montreal.
Raskin said he would miss Mizrahi’s smile, and urged people to “increase goodness and kindness” during this tragic time.
Mizrahi leaves behind a son in his late 30s and two daughters in Israel, Raskin said.
A prayer service was held in Montreal Monday evening for Mizrahi, where dozens of people turned out.
A heavy police presence was also reported in Westmount on Monday afternoon.
SPVM spokesperson Manuel Couture said police received a call around the time of the initial shooting, reporting that a suspect was hiding in the Westmount area.
Police searched a significant area, including around Upper Lansdowne Ave. and nearby parks, but ultimately found nothing. The area and its surroundings are safe, he said.
Premier Christine Fréchette and Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada
held a press conference Monday evening.
“The tragic events that unfolded today have profoundly shaken Montrealers and all Quebecers,” Fréchette said. “I am deeply shocked and saddened by what happened.”
She added: “These actions are condemnable — they have no place in our society. We remain in solidarity, united and determined to stand by all those affected.”
Fréchette thanked police officers, first responders and emergency personnel, praising their “professionalism, courage and dedication.”
She said Santé Québec is ready to provide psychological services to people affected by the shooting. Quebecers can also call 811 for help.
Fréchette said she has asked that the National Assembly flag be lowered to half-mast.
Martinez Ferrada highlighted the bravery of police officers.
“I want to highlight the courage, the professionalism and the composure of the Montreal police officers who intervened in circumstances of extreme danger to protect the public,” she said.
“Their commitment to the safety of our city deserves all our gratitude.”
She said Montreal is “united in grief, solidarity and support for those who today carry the weight of this ordeal.”
Martinez Ferrada also said Montreal will lower flags on city buildings.
Lafrenière would not answer a question about reports that the civilian who died was mistakenly killed by a Montreal police officer.
“I lived through certain shootings, including (at Dawson College), and I can tell you that between what we knew at the start and what turned out to be true in the end, things changed,” said Lafrenière, a former Montreal police officer.
He stressed Montreal is a safe city.
“There are acts like that which are hard to predict, to prevent — but we’re in a city that’s extremely safe, and we remind ourselves of that every day. As for what happened, though, we don’t yet know all the details.”
Exact details will be announced later.
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