Montreal shooting suspect identified as 25-year-old from Alberta

Authorities in Quebec have identified a 25-year-old man from Alberta as the alleged suspect behind a shooting in a diverse Montreal neighbourhood that left one police officer and one bystander dead.

Seth Hatfield of Lethbridge, Alberta, was killed by police after he allegedly opened fire from a hotel room window in the Côte-des-Neiges borough on Monday.

Police have not yet released a motive for the attack. A document circulating online and reportedly tied to the suspect contained misogynistic as well as anti-capitalist and anti-government messaging.

Its authenticity has not been verified by police or by the BBC. Authorities say their investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The identity of the suspected gunman was verified by the Quebec coroner's office on Tuesday.

The University of Lethbridge confirmed he was a student and said the university was cooperating with the investigation.

The coroner's office also confirmed the identity of the police officer who was killed as 34-year-old Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and the resident killed as 64-year-old Michel Mizrahi.

Stéphanie Valenzuela, the mayor of the Côte-des-Neiges borough in Montreal, said that Benredouane had grown up in the neighbourhood before joining the Montreal Police Force in 2021.

In a tearful news conference on Tuesday, Valenzuela said he lost his life in "an act of heroism".

A second police officer was injured in the attack.

The shooting unfolded around midday, according to police, who responded after an eyewitness called in to report a "gun sticking out of a window" and shots fired.

Videos of the incident show the suspected shooter wearing military style gear and holding a long gun. Police said they believed he was acting alone.

Mizrahi, the bystander, is believed to have been killed in the crossfire, although the precise sequence of events that led to his death remains unclear.

He has been described as a Jewish man and a father of three who sold suits for a living. His local rabbi, Mendel Raskin, told Canadian media that Mizrahi was originally from Lebanon and had moved to Israel before settling in Montreal.

The attack occurred in a neighbourhood with a large Jewish community, sparking concerns about antisemitism.

In a statement, the Jewish Community Council of Montreal (JCCM) cautioned the public not to leap to conclusions, noting that police had not provided a motive or evidence on who the target was.

"Our community's fight against antisemitism is too important to be undermined by speculation or rumour," said Rabbi Saul Emanuel of the JCCM.

A 104-page document purportedly linked to the shooter has been circulating on social media in the aftermath of the attack.

Stephanie Carvin, a professor studying extremism at Carleton University in Ottawa and who has read its contents, described it as an anti-capitalist document that predominantly peddles "violent misogyny".

"It's an incel critique of capitalism," Carvin told the BBC. She added that it features a combination of ideas that are both far-left and far-right to justify its views - a type of "salad bar extremism".

The document also criticises pornography throughout. Local newspaper La Presse reported that the suspect was positioned directly across from the offices of the Montreal-based company that owns Pornhub, though the company said in a statement it "will not speculate on motive".

After the attack, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police sent an alert to other police forces in Canada, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported.

The bulletin is said to have warned about a document that had been circulating which allegedly encouraged citizens to shoot police officers.

Carvin said it remains unclear why the alleged suspect chose Montreal for the attack. "It will almost certainly be a significant part of the investigation," she said.

At Tuesday's news conference, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called for better gun control and for attention to be paid to the role of social media.

She did not comment directly on the document but described the reported contents as unacceptable. "I think there needs to be a way to ensure that women feel protected," she added.