By Joseph Marshall
Montreal police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and Jewish community member Michael Moshe Mizrachi were killed Monday after a gunman opened fire from the Hilton Garden Inn in the Westbury complex in Côte-des-Neiges.
Benredouane, 34, had been with the SPVM since 2021. He was killed while responding to the shooting. A second officer, a woman, was seriously wounded and taken to hospital. Police later said her life was no longer in danger.
The gunman was shot and killed by police.
The shooting began shortly after 11:35 a.m., following a 911 call about a person with a long gun at the hotel near the corner of De Courtrai and Trans Island avenues. Montreal police chief Fady Dagher said responding officers were met with gunfire.
Videos posted online showed a man carrying what appeared to be a long gun near the hotel as shots were exchanged with police. Other footage showed an officer on the ground during the shooting.
Police initially confirmed the deaths of one officer, one civilian and the suspect. The civilian was later identified as Michael Mizrachi in a statement released by Rabbi Saul Emanuel, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal.
“We are also devastated to learn of the passing of Michael Moshe ben Miriam / ben Shlomo,” Emanuel wrote. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this unimaginably painful time.”
Mizrachi’s condition was unclear for much of the afternoon, as conflicting reports circulated through community networks. Emanuel’s statement confirmed his death Monday evening.
Police have not said who fired the shot that killed Mizrachi. Quebec’s public-security minister, Ian Lafrenière, declined to confirm whether he was struck by the gunman or by police fire. The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes is investigating the police response and the use of force during the shooting.
The incident led to a lockdown across Côte-des-Neiges. Residents were told to remain indoors, lock their doors and stay away from windows. Streets were closed, the Décarie Expressway was affected, Namur Metro station was temporarily bypassed, and municipal facilities in Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce were closed.
An emergency alert warned residents about an armed and dangerous suspect. Dagher later said the gunman had already been neutralized when the alert was issued, but police continued searching the area for several hours.
A video circulating on social media appears to show police taking a man into custody at Décarie Square during the operation. The SPVM has not identified the man, said whether he was arrested or released, or confirmed whether he had any connection to the shooting.
Police also carried out searches in Westmount near St. Joseph’s Oratory. SPVM spokesperson Manuel Couture told CTV News that the search was connected to the shooting and was being conducted to make sure there were no more suspects. Police said no person of interest was found.
By mid-afternoon, Dagher said police were not seeking another suspect.
CTV News also aired footage of police entering a grocery store with weapons drawn. Separate video circulating online appears to show officers breaking windows and entering PA Supermarché during the lockdown. Police have not said whether the store was being searched, whether people were being evacuated, or whether officers were responding to a specific call. No hostage situation at the supermarket has been confirmed.
The shooting occurred inside the Westbury complex, an area surrounded by Jewish schools, synagogues, kosher businesses, apartment buildings and community institutions.
Federation CJA issued an emergency notice during the shooting saying it had received reports of an active-shooter incident near Westbury and De Courtrai. It urged people to avoid the area, follow police instructions and report suspicious activity to 911. The Federation notice did not identify a target or suggest that Jewish institutions were under attack.
Emanuel addressed that issue directly later Monday evening. He wrote that Montreal’s Jewish community has faced an increase in anti-Jewish incidents, threats, vandalism, violence and intimidation in recent years, but warned people not to declare the shooting an anti-Jewish terrorist attack before police had determined a motive.
“Fear cannot become an excuse for abandoning judgment,” Emanuel wrote.
He said speculation could undermine the credibility of legitimate concerns about anti-Jewish hatred.
Quebec officials have said the shooting was not linked to terrorism. Lafrenière said the province’s counter-terrorism unit was deployed, but declined to discuss the motive or reports that the gunman had travelled to Quebec from Alberta.
CTV News reported that Noovo Info, citing a police source, said investigators had found an alleged manifesto of more than 100 pages in a hotel room. According to the report, it called on citizens to take up arms and “rebel against the system.” Authorities declined to confirm the existence of the document and urged the public not to speculate about motive.
Police have not released the identity of the gunman. They have not said what brought him to the hotel, whether Mizrachi was struck by police or gunfire, or whether the detention at Décarie Square and the operation at PA Supermarché were connected to the shooter.
