A gunman opened fire from a Montreal hotel window Monday, killing a police officer and a civilian before being shot dead — another mass shooting in a country that has already disarmed its law-abiding citizens.
Canada bans handguns, freezes firearm purchases, and has confiscated thousands of legally owned rifles from its own people. None of it stopped a young man from driving in from Alberta with a long gun and dozens of pages of manifesto railing against women. The shooting unfolded around 11:30 a.m. in Côte-des-Neiges, a neighborhood with kosher restaurants, synagogues, and a large Jewish population — raising immediate fears of an antisemitic attack. But both police and local Jewish residents say that does not appear to have been the motive.
The dead officer was identified as Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, 34, who had served with the Montreal Police Service since 2021. Police Chief Fady Dagher called him a "great, great, great police officer" who was "very passionate." A second officer, a woman, was seriously wounded. It was the first time a Montreal officer has been killed in the line of duty in 24 years.
A civilian was also killed during the gunfight. Dagher said he could not confirm who shot the civilian. Video circulating online — since being pulled from platforms — appeared to show the civilian being struck during the exchange of fire between the suspect and police. Dagher told reporters the suspect was "shot right away. But the other person, I don't have the details yet."
According to HotAir, citing TVA News Canada, investigators recovered an incel-style manifesto from the suspect's hotel room in which he lamented male loneliness and spread derogatory remarks about women. The suspect is believed to have driven from Alberta in the days before the attack. CBS, BBC, NBC, and the Boston Globe made no mention of the manifesto in their reporting.
The shooting location initially stoked fears of a targeted antisemitic attack. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it was "closely monitoring the situation" and urged community members to exercise vigilance. But Mordy Aisenstark, a Jewish manager at a pizza restaurant near the scene, said he did not believe antisemitism was the motive. "There are two openly Jewish businesses in the area and they didn't come to target them," he told the Boston Globe. Dagher also said he did not believe police were specifically targeted, though he could not rule it out pending investigation.
Quebec Premier Christine Frechette urged the public to "avoid speculation." Quebec's domestic security minister, Ian Lafrenière, said, "For now, we don't really know what the motive of this individual was."
What is known: a man with a long gun and a hatred of women drove across provinces to shoot up a street in a country where the government has made it its business to strip firearms from every citizen who follows the rules. The rules never stopped him. The question isn't whether politicians will demand more restrictions — it's whether anyone will notice the restrictions they already have didn't work.
