Two funeral ceremonies will be held Wednesday in Montreal to pay tribute to the police officer and the citizen who were killed Monday in the shooting in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood.
The funeral service for Michel Mizrahi will be held this morning. The 68-year-old, a well-known member of Montreal’s Jewish community, was reportedly in the wrong place at the wrong time during Monday’s events.
His obituary emphasizes that he will be remembered for his “immense generosity, his joy of life and the many ways in which he helped make the lives of others better.”
This evening, a funeral prayer (Salat Al-Janaza) will be held in memory of Officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane. He passed away at the age of 34, having joined the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) in 2021.
In a statement, the police force praised “his sense of duty, his dedication and his professionalism”.
These two ceremonies will take place two days after the tragic events in which a gunman opened fire in the Côte-des-Neiges district.
In addition to the two victims, a policewoman was also seriously injured, but her condition has reportedly stabilized in the hospital.
The suspected gunman, identified as Seth Scott Hatfield, was shot dead by police. According to several media reports, the 25-year-old suspect, from Lethbridge, Alberta, had written a manifesto before carrying out the attack.
The criminal investigation is now in the hands of the Sûreté du Québec, while the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes is looking into the intervention of the SPVM officers.
Furthermore, the National Holiday celebrations that were to take place in the Côte-des-Neiges district on Wednesday have been cancelled, as the community remains in shock after the shooting.
On social media, the Côte-des-Neiges Business Development Corporation explained that the decision to cancel the festivities was made “in order to respect its community and not generate a gathering”.
“Our thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, and all those affected by this tragedy that has shaken our neighbourhood,” wrote the Business Development Corporation, referring to a “difficult” decision.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
