‘The most important thing an employer can do is have those safety conversations right off the to’
A Montreal police officer was fatally shot while responding to a report of an armed suspect in the city's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood — the first on-duty death of a Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) officer since 2002.
A civilian bystander was also killed, and the suspected gunman was neutralised at the scene.
Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, 34, was struck by gunfire on Monday after officers were dispatched to 6939 Décarie Boulevard following a witness report of a gun protruding from a window, CBC narrated. A female officer sustained severe injuries and was later reported in stable condition. A second civilian sustained minor injuries.
Benredouane had been a member of the SPVM since 2021. The force said in a statement that his death was "a huge loss for our organisation." The civilian killed was identified as Michel Mizrahi.
The shooting
SPVM Chief Fady Dagher told reporters officers were called after a witness observed a firearm extending from a window, and that the suspect opened fire when they arrived. Video footage verified by CBC News captured at least 29 gunshots in 58 seconds.
Within moments of the engagement, one officer was on the ground while a second repositioned under fire. The shooter then advanced to the position just vacated by the second officer, continuing to fire before falling to the ground himself. Police confirmed the suspect was killed.
Quebec's police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), deployed 10 investigators to examine the intervention. The Sûreté du Québec was assigned to a parallel criminal investigation. The BEI investigates all cases in which a person other than an on-duty officer dies or is seriously injured during a police action, noted CBC.
Suspected motive
Radio-Canada reported that the suspect had distributed a violent manifesto linked to the misogynistic "incel" — involuntary celibate — subculture before the attack. The manifesto reportedly called for violent action and invoked masculinist ideology targeting women. Police did not confirm the manifesto's contents at press time.
Quebec Domestic Security Minister Ian Lafrenière confirmed the shooting was not being investigated as a terrorism incident and was unconnected to a separate incident the previous day in Melville, Sask., in which two RCMP officers were shot and seriously injured.
Lafrenière also urged the public not to share graphic video footage circulating on social media. "We're talking about people that literally died being filmed," he said.
