On June 22, 2026, a shootout in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood resulted in the deaths of a civilian, a police officer and the suspected shooter.
Here is everything we know about the event and its aftermath. This report will be updated as new details emerge.
The shootings
At 11:35 a.m. on Monday, June 22, Montreal police (SPVM) received a 911 call from a civilian reporting a gun sticking out of a window at the Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Midtown hotel on the corner of Décarie Blvd. and de Courtrai Ave.
By the time officers arrived, the gunman — later identified as 25-year-old Seth Scott Hatfield — was on the street level. Gunfire was exchanged between Hatfield and police outside the hotel, along de Courtrai.
Three people died as a result of the exchange: Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, who was shot by Hatfield, civilian Michel Mizrahi, and Hatfield himself. A second, female officer, who has not been formally identified, was critically injured in the shootout, but her condition later stabilized in a hospital.
Windows of the building across from the Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Midtown were shot out. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
The precise unfolding of the shootings has not yet been made public. Authorities have declined to comment on unconfirmed reports that Mizrahi was mistakenly killed by the surviving officer’s gunfire.
Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, is investigating.
Bullet holes were visible in the windows of the building across from the Hilton Hotel, which contains apartments as well as businesses, including the headquarters of Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub.
Witnesses recounted hearing dozens of gunshots, and some told The Gazette they saw Hatfield wearing military-style clothing and carrying a long gun.
Seth Scott Hatfield, the suspect identified as the gunman, captured in a screengrab. via X
The lockdown
An “armed threat” alert was issued for the Côte-des-Neiges area around 12:30 p.m. that day, advising people to shelter in place and stay away from windows.
Parts of the métro’s Orange and Blue lines were closed, and the Décarie Expressway was blocked in both directions between the Turcot and Décarie interchanges for much of the afternoon. Saint Joseph’s Oratory was also evacuated.
The Décarie Expressway was closed in both directions. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
Officers at the scene initially told reporters that they were searching for a possible second suspect, but SPVM Chief Fady Dagher later confirmed only one suspect was believed to be involved.
The lockdown was lifted around 3:15 p.m., hours after the shooter, Hatfield, was killed. Dagher explained that police extended their operation out of an abundance of caution and to ensure that all threats had been neutralized.
SPVM Chief Fady Dagher,speaks at a press conference in the wake of the shootings. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
Heavy police presence was reported as far as Westmount, where officers searched a significant area, including around Upper Lansdowne Ave. and nearby parks, but ultimately found nothing.
Witnesses shared harrowing accounts of sheltering inside businesses like the Supermarché PA on de Courtrai Ave., where they waited for hours as police conducted searches.
Police conduct sweeps and secure the area. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
The victims
On the evening of the shootings, Montreal police confirmed the identity of their fallen officer: Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, 34.
SPVM Chief Dagher described Benredouane as a dedicated police officer with “a lot of credibility.”
Montreal police officer Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane. SPVM
Stéphanie Valenzuela, borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, said Benredouane went to school in the neighbourhood and was well-known by many.
A memorial was set up in the entrance of SPVM Station 26 in memory of Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane. Tim Snow / Montreal Gazette
Benredouane is the first SPVM officer to die in the line of duty since 2002, when Const. Benoît L’Écuyer was shot after chasing a car that failed to stop.
Montreal suit salesman Michel Mizrahi. Aurelieinmiami/Instagram
Michel Mizrahi, 68, was identified as the civilian killed in the shootout.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Mizrahi lived in Israel before moving to Montreal in the early 1980s. At the time of his death, he was living in Côte-St-Luc in a building on Marc-Chagall Ave.
Mizrahi had a warehouse on Devonshire Rd. where he sold men’s suits.
He left behind a son who lives in Montreal, two daughters in Israel, and six grandchildren.
Cantor Daniel Benlolo, who spoke to reporters at Mizrahi’s funeral on June 24, said Mizrahi had likely saved lives on the day of the shootings.
“He was a hero because he didn’t just leave the scene; he stayed and told others to run away, escape and find refuge. He tried to guide people to safety,” Benlolo said. “He could have just laid down and covered himself, but this angel was able to stand firm and help others.”
Rabbi Sholom Chriqui lays his hand on the hearse containing the casket of Michel Mizrahi. Tim Snow / Montreal Gazette
In the aftermath of the shootings, there was some confusion over what had happened to Mizrahi. It was rumoured he had been taken to a hospital and was still alive.
Rabbi Barak Hetsroni of the Jewish General Hospital, who knows the Mizrahi family, told The Gazette that Mizrahi’s son had reached out to him in an effort to find his father. The hope was that Hetsroni’s connections to the Jewish General Hospital could lead to answers.
He accompanied Mizrahi’s son to the scene, where they ultimately confirmed Mizrahi’s identity and that he had died.
The shooter
The day after the shootings, Quebec’s coroner identified the suspected gunman as 25-year-old Seth Scott Hatfield.
Hatfield is from Lethbridge, Alta., a city of about 100,000 people where much of his family also resides.
Seth Scott Hatfield, the suspect identified as the gunman. via X
Hatfield graduated from Catholic Central High School in Lethbridge in 2019.
He later attended the University of Lethbridge, where he studied philosophy. In the winter 2026 semester, he was named to the dean’s honour list, which is for students who achieve a grade-point average of at least 3.75 in a semester, according to the university’s website.
Seth Scott Hatfield’s high school yearbook photo. Handout
An old friend, who knew Hatfield in elementary school and attended high school with him, described Hatfield as “funny, and a bit aloof” as a child. The friend said he was also highly intelligent and had a long-standing interest in history, particularly the First and Second World Wars.
The friend recalled Hatfield developing an interest in political thinkers such as Karl Marx as they grew older, but said they did not know how deeply those beliefs were held.
A now-deleted YouTube account linked to Hatfield featured a public playlist of 51 videos, last updated in December 2022. It included videos from far-right commentator Paul Joseph Watson attacking Black Lives Matter and feminism, among other topics; a livestream on fascism from a channel called Gott Mit Uns; tributes to anti-communist White Army forces of the Russian Civil War; and crude humour clips.
Alberta police are now assisting Quebec authorities, according to the Lethbridge Police Service, as investigators work to piece together Hatfield’s activities before the attack.
The manifesto
A purported manifesto under Seth Hatfield’s name surfaced in the wake of the tragedy.
The 104-page document contains rhetoric associated with the “involuntary celibacy” — or “incel” — movement, pointing to feminism, liberalism and capitalism as causes for what the author says is male suffering.
The Gazette has made the editorial decision not to link to the manifesto, to avoid amplifying its message.
The text outlines steps to create a “new order” that would curtail the economic and sexual freedoms of women. It also describes how readers should approach police encounters when committing acts of violence and lists dozens of “valid potential class A targets.”
These targets include international real-estate brokerages, pornography companies, private equity firms, elite bankers and politicians, influential Zionists, private health and oil CEOs, plastic surgeons, cryptocurrency leaders, the headquarters of all corporations with ties to Zionism (IBM, Microsoft, Boeing) and “pickup artists,” among others.
Stephanie Carvin, a former national security analyst with the Canadian government, noted that the manifesto is “not far right” and “not far left” in the ideologies it espouses, instead mashing together different grievances and extremist worldviews.
The author’s ultimate goal, however, appears to be removing women from the workforce, giving them fewer options for independence, and enforcing monogamy.
The pornography angle
Hatfield’s purported manifesto includes “the headquarters of international pornography companies” and those who “actively promote pornography to the public” on its list of targets.
In the wake of the shootings, broken windows were visible in the building that houses the head office of Aylo — the world’s largest pornography company and the parent company of Pornhub.
Bullets struck the windows of a building containing the Aylo headquarters. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
Aylo has declined to comment on any connection to the events: “The investigation remains ongoing, and we will not speculate on motive or share unconfirmed information.”
Authorities have yet to officially confirm whether the targeting of Aylo or Pornhub is being investigated as a potential motive.
Bullet holes in the curtain of a window belonging to the building that houses Aylo. Evan Buhler / Montreal Gazette
The call for gun control
Speaking to reporters the day after the shootings, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called for stricter gun control in Canada.
“What’s concerning is how — again today in 2026 — someone can manage to get a gun, go into a public street and open fire,” she said.
She referenced the 1989 École Polytechnique shooting and said she believes the country can go further in restricting access to firearms.
Martinez Ferrada also denounced how quickly graphic videos of the shootings spread on social media and said she worries about how easily dangerous ideologies take root online.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada gives a press conference the day after the shootings. Tim Snow / Montreal Gazette