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The two victims in Monday’s fatal midday gunfight in Montreal are being remembered for their deep ties to the area where it unfolded and how they each served their communities — in their own distinct ways.
The shooting took place in the city’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
The victims have been identified as Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane and Michel Mizrahi, both beloved members of the Algerian and Jewish communities, respectively.
‘A heart of gold’
Rabbi Mendel Raskin was Mizrahi’s rabbi for 30 years at the Beth Chabad synagogue in Côte Saint-Luc. He told CBC that Mizrahi was a “hero who was loved by everybody” in the community.
The rabbi said that on Tuesday morning, he spoke with a woman who credits Mizrahi for saving her life by telling her to run away from the area of the shooting on Monday.
“It was so easy for him to run away. But he didn’t run away. He stayed and helped,” Raskin said. “He was always here to help other people.”
Lauren Berenholc, who knew Mizrahi for more than 20 years, told The Canadian Press that Mizrahi was the first to step in when a neighbour needed help. She also described him as a devoted father to his three children — two daughters and a son.
WATCH | Mizrahi remembered for his kindness and generosity:
Grandfather with ‘heart of gold’ was civilian killed in Montreal shooting
Sixty-eight-year-old Michel Mizrahi is being remembered as a generous and committed community member, especially at his synagogue in a Montreal suburb. Mizrahi was killed Monday in the shooting that also took the life of a Montreal police officer.
Mizrahi owned a business making tailored suits. Raskin described Mizrahi as “a great man” with a “heart of gold” — always offering to buy coffee for others, or willing to give someone in his community a free suit if he knew they couldn’t afford one.
“Today more than ever, after such a tragedy, we have to learn from him,” said Raskin.
“Do everything that you can do to help another person. We must get stronger on unity and open up our hearts to another person.”
Sarah Raskin, the co-director of the synagogue that Mizrahi attended for decades, said she’ll remember him for his generosity, as well as his kindness toward friends, family and community.
WATCH | Mizrahi’s rabbi says he was trying to save others:
Michel Mizrahi, killed in Montreal shooting, remembered as beloved member of city’s Jewish community
Michel Mizrahi, the civilian who was killed in Monday’s shooting in Montreal, directed people away from the gunfire and was a ‘hero who was loved by everybody’ in the community, says Rabbi Mendel Raskin of Beth Chabad Côte Saint-Luc.’It was an act of heroism’
Tributes also poured in on Tuesday for Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, the fallen Montreal police officer.
“The Algerian community has lost one of its own, respected and loved by all,” the Montreal-based Ligue maghrébine de soccer (Maghreb soccer league) wrote in a post on Facebook late Monday evening.
According to a crowdfunding campaign that’s been launched for his family, Benredouane leaves behind a three-year-old child and a pregnant wife.
The Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) confirmed Benredouane had attended La Voie high school, which is just over a kilometre away from where he was killed in the line of duty.
“When you have someone that grew up in the neighbourhood, decided to serve his community in a way that he did by ultimately losing his life — it was an act of heroism,” said the borough mayor for Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Stéphanie Valenzuela.
WATCH | Mourning fallen Montreal officer:
Montreal mourns police officer killed in neighbourhood where he grew up
Residents of the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood are mourning the death of 34-year-old Montreal police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane who was killed in a shooting Monday. A civilian and the suspect also died that day.
Yves Francoeur, head of the police brotherhood, said in a statement that Benredouane was a man of honour and courage.
“Our colleague gave his life to protect the citizens of Montreal, remaining faithful to the oath he took until the very end,” Francoeur said. “Officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane leaves behind loved ones, colleagues and an entire community.”
Benredouane had been working as a police officer with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) since 2021, police confirmed on Monday, adding that their fallen comrade’s death is a huge loss for the organization.
“His sense of duty, commitment and professionalism will forever stay in our memories,” the SPVM wrote in an online statement.
Quebec’s Domestic Security Minister Ian Lafrenière, a former Montreal police officer, also wrote that his thoughts are with Benredouane’s family.
“Fallen, but never forgotten,” he wrote on X.
Flags across the province have been lowered to half-mast in tribute to the fallen officer.
Benredouane is the first SPVM officer to be killed in the line of duty since 2002, when Const. Benoît L’Écuyer was shot and killed during a police chase.
Coroner Martine Lachance will be conducting an investigation to determine the causes and circumstances surrounding Monday’s deaths.
Meanwhile, Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendentes (BEI), is investigating the shooting, which also left another officer injured.