A midday shooting in the Canadian city of Montreal left a police officer, a civilian and the armed assailant dead on Monday.
The unidentified male suspect, who is believed to have acted alone, was shot and killed right away, the city’s police chief said. One other police officer was severely injured and was reportedly in stable condition.
The attack unfolded in a diverse part of the city, Côte-des-Neiges. A witness saw a “gun sticking out of a window”, heard shots and called police, said investigators.
Quebec’s security minister said the motive was unclear. It was the first time a Montreal police officer had been killed in the line of duty in nearly a quarter of a century.
Becoming emotional during a press conference, Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher told reporters: “It’s a nightmare.”
The police department later named the officer killed as Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, 34, who had been part of the force since 2021.
Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, 34, had been part of the force since 2021
The department said it will fly its flags at half staff in his honour, adding that he would be remembered for his hard work, professionalism and dedication to his job.
The civilian killed in the attack was Michael Moshe Mizrahi, “a beloved member of Montreal’s Jewish community”, said the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
The Canadian advocacy group posted on social media that Mizrahi was “an innocent victim of today’s events”. Police have not said that it was an antisemitic attack.
The Globe and Mail reported that following the shooting, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) sent an alert to police agencies across the country about a document that allegedly encouraged citizens to shoot police officers.
French language public broadcaster Radio Canada said the gunman drew inspiration from the misogynistic “incel” movement – mostly online groups of young men who blame their lack of sexual activity on women.
One of Canada’s most deadly mass killings, a 2018 vehicle-ramming in Toronto that killed 10, was connected to “incel” ideology.
The BBC has not confirmed the existence of any reported document in the Montreal attack.
The RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Montreal police referred questions on the matter to the Bureau of Independent Investigations, which declined to comment on the investigation.
Ian Lafrenière, Quebec’s domestic security minister, said earlier: “For now, we don’t really know what the motive of this individual was.”
The shooting began after 11:30 EDT (15:30 GMT) in Côte-des-Neiges, the most populated neighbourhood in Montreal.
Traffic in a nearby busy motorway was brought to a stop and local metro service was halted.
Just after 12:30 EDT, the province of Quebec issued an emergency alert warning residents of an armed suspect on the loose. The alert was lifted around 15:00 EDT.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said that he was “horrified” when he learned of the shooting.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, the first responders, and the entire community of Côte‑des‑Neiges,” he wrote on social media.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the mayor of Montreal, said in a social media post: “My deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the police officer who died in the line of duty.”
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette echoed those sentiments in a social media post adding that “such acts have no place here”.
