The Current - Montreal shooting leaves civilian and police officer dead

Episode Date: June 23, 2026

Flags in Montreal are now flying at half mast, in honour of police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane. The 34 year old was killed after a suspect started shooting in the neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges. A civilian, Michel Mizrahi, was also killed in the shooting. The suspect is also dead. A second police officer was also shot but is in stable condition. We speak with CBC's Gloria Henriquez in Montreal about what unfolded.

With Google AI, Destination Canada is giving local businesses the insights they need to grow. Together, we're helping boost tourism from coast to coast to coast. Innovation is Canada's story. Let's tell it together. Find out more at g.co slash Canadian innovation. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. Flags in Montreal are now flying at half-mast in honor of police officer Mohammed Lamin bin Redouin. The 34-year-old was killed after a suspect started shooting in the neighborhood of Cotonaz yesterday.

A civilian, Michael Mizrahi, was also killed in the shooting, and the suspect is also dead. A second police officer was also shot but is in stable condition. Brandon Benchamel El-Kame lives nearby. At first, it sounded like construction site sounds, but it was a bit different. And what struck me is when I went to look outside the kids that were playing in the park, their parents literally yanked them. off the play structure to just run and get out of here. And then five minutes later, the gunshots continued.

And then the swarm of police just didn't stop. So it was like nothing we've ever seen. The CBC's Gloria Enriquez is in Montreal this morning. Gloria, good morning. Good morning, Matt. The chief of police in Montreal said that officers were called after witnesses saw a gun sticking out of a window. What do we know about how events yesterday unfolded? Yes.

So the call came in at around 1130 in the morning. The officers responded to a 911 call and then arrive on the scene. Immediately when they arrived on the scene, they started being shot at. There were shots exchanged on the street. The suspect was killed and one civilian died. Another one was injured. Now, a witness we spoke to who lives inside the apartment complex where it all happened said He first heard one round of multiple shots.

He looked outside the window. He saw people scrambling. And then he heard another round of shots. Now, this triggered a huge police operation. A major highway was closed. St. Joseph's Oratory, which is a huge tourist spot, was closed. And several alerts were sent out to Montrealers' phones, asking them to shelter in place and lock their doors. There was a SWAT team that arrived in search.

the area, even the metro stations, several stations were closed and parts of the metro were paralyzed for this operation. This is a central neighborhood in Montreal-Cotinish. It is and it is a very dense neighborhood. It is a very diverse neighborhood and people describe it as a family-oriented neighborhood. So it was a shock for people there. What do we know about the officer who was killed? The officer who died is 34-year-old Mohamed Lamin Ben-Ridouin. He has been with the force since 2021, and he's being described by police as someone who had a strong sense of duty, dedication, an ultimate professional. The head of police had met him a couple of times, and he said that he was a very passionate person.

Quebec's premier and Montreal's mayor, along with other officials, were at the police headquarters yesterday, and they laid one single blue rose on the insignia on the floor of its headquarters in his honor. And in the picture, you can see them paying their respects with their heads hanging low. And there's another police officer that is in hospital as well. She is in hospital. She is in stable condition. I spoke to police this morning. There's not a lot of information.

All we know is that she is out of danger. There was also a civilian that was killed in the gunfire. What do we know about that individual? Yeah, the civilian is Michael Mizrahi. We spoke to a local rabbi who says he's a very well-known member. of the community. He ran a clothing store and the rabbi described him as someone who was warm-hearted, very kind and someone who always wore a smile on his face. So it was a huge shock to hear that he had passed. The shooter was also killed. What do we know, the suspected shooter? What do we know about

the suspected shooter in this? We know very little. We saw images of the suspect decked out in military garb. It looked like he was, he was wearing an army uniform, you know, the one, with camouflage print. And we also know that he was carrying a lung gun, although police wouldn't specify what type of gun. There are questions, as you can imagine already, about what's the motive of the suspect may have been. Reggio Canada is reporting that the suspected shooter had a manifesto

that is being characterized as being against women. The Globe and Mail and others are also reporting that the RCMP has warned about, possible copycats in other cities, suggesting that there was encouragement of citizens to attack and shoot police officers. What do we know about this? Yeah, our colleagues at Hadzio Canada got a hold of that manifesto. They read it and they called it a violent in-cell manifesto targeting women calling for a violent revolution invoking male dominance arguments. Now, the in-cell movement you might have heard of it is made of people who,

are involuntary celibates, men, who are single and they basically blame women for it. It's a sort of online brotherhood of men who say they are unsuccessful in their romantic attempts with women and express deep misogyny and hatred for women. As you mentioned, the community where this shooting took place is a very tight-knit community. It's a central community. It's a family-oriented community. One of the things that happened yesterday was the police put a shelter in place warning, like an amber alert out. This This is the first time for most people in the city of Montreal. What have you heard about that?

Yeah, the chief of police said he wanted to be 100% sure that everyone in the area was safe, but he confirmed that the alert was sent out after the suspect was killed. And so that prompted a lot of questions from people about whether there was a second suspect or if there was an imminent threat still. So actually, there were several alerts that came out that went off during the throughout the day. one of them even went off during the police presser. So it was something that was very shocking to receive and to see on your phone because it's not normal. It's also Monday morning and it's the beginning of summer and people are out and about doing the things that they do.

And so there's a lockdown that goes into place, which goes on for hours. And we heard earlier witnesses talking about parents grabbing their kids off of the place truck. because they were worried about what was going on. You spoke with somebody who was stuck, what, in a grocery store for much of the day? Yeah, he was stuck in a grocery store, which was nearby the shooting, where the shooting took place. He told me that he was under the impression of being in a cowboy movie. So when the grocery store operators heard the gunshots, they rushed to close the doors. And then police stormed in, according to this person I spoke to,

He had been there just shopping with his wife. And all of a sudden, he says he saw a bunch of an army of police officers who rushed in front of them with their guns. At first they were told to lay on the ground. And then they were taken to the back of the store where they were in lockdown for multiple hours. He says the grocery store clerks kept bringing them food and made sure they were okay. And that he was with about 30 people in there, including children. and some of them were extremely anxious about what was happening. There are a lot of questions in the wake of this shooting.

What are you expecting to hear from police today and in the coming days? Yeah, the investigation is now in the hands of provincial police who are looking into the criminal side of the incident. Meanwhile, the BEI, which is Quebec's police watchdog, is also investigating. And Matt, usually the BEI is involved when police interventions result in deaths or serious injuries. So that being said, I want to be clear, police aren't confirming the civilian who died, was shot by an officer. So we are expecting it in the next few hours, the next few days to have more clarity over that. Gloria, appreciate this. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much. The CBC's Gloria Enriquez was in our Montreal studio. This has been the current podcast. You can hear our show Monday to Friday on CBC Radio 1 at 8.30 a.m. at all time zones. or you can also listen online at cbc.ca.ca.ca slash the current or on the CBC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.