The 68-year-old civilian who died in the Montreal shooting Monday is being remembered as a father of three with a “heart of gold” whose generosity and smile were contagious.
Michel Moshe Mizrahi, a member of Beth Chabad synagogue in Côte-St-Luc for more than 30 years, was killed in the Côte-des-Neiges shooting that also saw a police officer lose his life, as well as the suspect.
Mizrahi was planning to meet his son for lunch when he was fatally shot.
“The community is in a deep, deep pain, very big shock, because he was loved by everyone,” said the synagogue’s rabbi, Mendel Raskin. “He was such a great person, had a heart of gold. He was always here to help other people.
“Huge heart. A great person. So today we all crying for the loss of such a man.”
Related:
Rabbi Raskin says Mizrahi reportedly made sure bystanders were safe while the shooting was taking place.
“I spoke to a woman this morning,” Raskin recounted. “She told me yesterday she was walking with her baby, and he went to her, he says, ‘they’re shooting, please run away.’
“He made sure that she understands that she has to run away. She told me, ‘if I’m alive today, it’s because of him.’”
Raskin says Mizrahi, who owned a suit business, spread joy wherever he went.
“We should learn from his smile,” the religious leader said. “A lot of people, you can save another person by smiling. Giving importance to another person. His smile was contagious. And people love to be around him. So if we can learn that from him, it’s going to help a lot to this world that need healing.”
An online fundraiser for Mizrahi’s family raised for than $105,000 in its first day.
More coming.
