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Damaged windows can be seen in the distance as police gather near the scene of a shooting in Montreal on Monday which left three people dead.DAPHNE LEMELIN/AFP/Getty Images
Three people – a police officer, a civilian and a suspect wielding a rifle – are dead after a gunfire exchange Monday morning outside a hotel in the Côte-des-Neiges district of Montreal.
Another officer was taken to hospital in critical condition, but her life is not in danger, Montreal’s police chief, Fady Dagher, told reporters.
The shooting took place in a neighbourhood known for its large immigrant and Jewish population. Mr. Dagher said it was too early to comment on the suspect’s motivations.
Following the shooting, the RCMP sent a bulletin to all police agencies across the country warning that “a 105-page manifesto reportedly originating from Alberta is allegedly encouraging citizens to shoot police officers,” according to a copy of the alert reviewed by The Globe and Mail.
“Please exercise extreme caution and remain highly vigilant,” the advisory warns.
Two eyewitnesses told The Globe and Mail that the gunman wore military-style tactical gear.
A Montreal police officer is dead and another officer is injured following a shooting that prompted a major police response and multiple crime scenes Monday in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, officials say.
The Associated Press
Videos posted on social media show a man holding a rifle and wearing camouflaged clothes and webbing crouching behind a pillar during the shootout. On one video, the gunman ran past a man standing in front of the hotel entrance, towards two police officers.
Officials have not confirmed the authenticity of the videos, but their details – the location, the make of the parked cars, where the slain officer fell − match footage that an eyewitness at the hotel shared with The Globe and Mail.
Another witness, Ben Clerkin, a magazine editor visiting Montreal with his family to attend a wedding, said he saw a police officer lying on the ground from inside the hotel. He said a civilian was with the officer, apparently trying to administer CPR.
“It was pretty obvious straight away that guy was probably not going to make it,” Mr. Clerkin said.
Mr. Clerkin also saw the assailant after he’d been shot, who he described as looking very young and slight, with long, straw-coloured hair. He said the man was wearing a camouflage jacket with green pants and black boots.
“I walked outside, got a bit closer, and at that point the police started pushing people away and said there might be a second shooter,” he said.
Timeline of Canadian police officers killed in the line of duty
Mr. Dagher told reporters that officers identified the suspect by “the way he was dressed, the way he behaved” and “neutralized” him.
The police chief said the incident began when someone called 911 around 11:35 a.m. to report seeing a gun barrel pointing out of a window of the Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Midtown hotel.
The hotel is located near the Décarie Expressway.
Patrollers who arrived at the scene came under fire in the driveway outside the hotel.
Guests at the hotel fled down the stairs while screams and gunshots rang out. Police told others to barricade themselves upstairs.
Robert Benzrihem was shopping at the adjoining PA grocery store when the shooting began.
“We saw an army of police officers with their guns drawn saying ‘Get down, get down get down,’” he said. “It was like a movie.”
Witnesses told local media that they heard dozens of gunshots. One said she saw a man lying in his blood on the ground.
“Today, one of ours fell while doing his duty, protecting and serving,” Mr. Dagher said, adding that “It’s a very, very sad day. It’s a nightmare.”
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The shooting took place in a neighbourhood known for its large immigrant and Jewish population. Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher said it was too early to comment on the suspect’s motivations.Andrej Ivanov/Getty Images
He said the suspect was armed with a long gun but would not give more details. Mr. Dagher would not answer questions over reports that the gunman had penned a manifesto but said “there is similar information about that.”
He also said he didn’t know who had shot the civilian.
The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, which investigates incidents when civilians are killed during a police intervention, will be involved.
Tearful bystanders have been coming in all day to Megu Lan’s convenience store down the road, recounting what they saw and heard.
“It’s not like Montreal,” she said.
David Ben-shir was at a Jewish community centre next door to the hotel when he heard the faint sound of gunshots in the late morning. Soon after, a security guard said they had to lock down the building. The lockdown lasted for several hours, while Mr. Ben-shir watched the heavy police presence surrounding the hotel.
Eventually, guests from the hotel were evacuated into the community centre. “We tried to be welcoming to them,” Mr. Ben-shir said. “Some people are very stressed out.”
Jacob Coutu, who was working in construction near the shooting, said he heard “four of five gunshots” on Monday morning. A few minutes later, he said police officers started arriving at the scene in large numbers, and he heard more gunfire.
“We saw cops getting in a gunfight, getting shot down,” Mr. Coutu told The Canadian Press.
“I saw a cop go down, I saw the suspect go down,” said the worker, who estimates he heard 30 or 40 gunshots.
The Décarie Expressway and the subway nearby were closed for part of the day.
Mr. Dagher said it was the first time a Montreal police officer was killed on duty since 2002.
With reports from The Canadian Press