Montreal shooting: Three dead including police officer after gunman opened fire in Jewish neighbourhood

A midday shooting in Montreal killed three people, including a police officer, a civilian, and the alleged gunman.

The bloodshed occurred in a partly Jewish neighbourhood that includes kosher markets and restaurants, and the civilian who was shot dead has been identified as Michael Moshe Mizrahi,a member of Montreal’s Jewish community.

Radio Canada said the gunman was connected to “incel” ideology — a misogynistic worldview that fuelled the man responsible for one of Canada’s most deadly mass killings, a 2018 vehicle-ramming in Toronto that killed 10.

Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that after the incident Royal Canadian Mounted Police alerted police agencies across the country about a document that allegedly encouraged citizens to shoot police officers.

Police have declined comment on the shooter’s motive but one law enforcement source said “it appeared to be an ambush”.

Montreal police chief Fady Dagher described the incident as “a tragedy, a nightmare.”

Dagher said police received a call after witness reported a gun sticking out of a window in Montreal’s Cote-des-Neiges neighborhood at around 11:30 am

Police responded and a shootout ensued, with the assailant firing from inside a building with a long gun, Mr Dagher said

Dramatic video showed the gunman, dressed in camouflage clothing, taking aim at officers outside the building as they hid behind pillars.

Frank Vogas said he was buying paint at a shop in the area when the gunfire erupted.

“I see the police storm in, come in from everywhere, and, they raise their guns,” the 71-year-old said, explaining that officers told people in the shop to keep low to the floor.

Cote-des-Neiges resident Danny Wilk witnessed the violence.

“I was on the street near my home when I heard one shot, then several more,” he said, adding: “I tried to take shelter in the nearby pizzeria, and that’s when I saw the shooter, who looked ready to fire his weapon, dressed in military clothing.”

Mr Wilk said he saw the officer, dead on the ground, before the shooter was taken down by police.

Mr Dagher confirmed one male officer, later identified as Mohamed Lamine Benredoune, was shot dead. Another female officer sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Mr Dagher confirmed the gunman was dressed in what appeared to be military-style clothing.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “horrified” by the violence.

The location of the shooting raised immediate speculation online that it was another incident of anti-Semitic violence in Canada, a country that has seen an enormous increase in reported crimes targeting Jews since Israel launched its operation in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.

Mr Dagher stressed the investigation had not yet produced any indications as to motive. “It’s important to be very careful of rumours,” he said.

Getzy Markowitz, a rabbi who works in the area, said the shooting took place in a community with multiple Jewish institutions, including educational centres and a food bank.

“People are asking me if it’s an attack on the Jewish community. I think it would just be completely irresponsible even (to) speak to that at this point, because (all) we know, it was an attack right now on the police,” he said.

Quebec Premier Christine Frechette said she was “deeply shaken by the tragic events,” while urging people to “avoid speculation,” about what transpired..