MONTREAL — Some of the pomp and circumstance of Saint-Jean Baptiste Day will be subdued today as a Montreal neighbourhood grieves three people killed this week in a horrific shooting.
The Côte-des-Neiges Business Development Corporation says it has cancelled planned Fête nationale celebrations “out of respect” for the community.
The city also ordered municipal facilities in the borough closed after the Monday shooting that killed Montreal police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, civilian bystander Michel Mizrahi and alleged gunman Seth Scott Hatfield.
Quebec media have reported the 25-year-old suspect from Lethbridge, Alta., wrote a manifesto expressing hatred toward women and called for more violence.
Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting, while Quebec provincial police have launched a parallel criminal probe.
Meanwhile, police in British Columbia have warned forces across that province of the possibility of an anti-police manifesto linked to the Montreal shooting.
“In the wake of the tragic events that occurred in Côte-des-Neiges earlier this week, the SDC Côte-des-Neiges has made the difficult decision not to hold the Quebec National Day celebrations scheduled for June 24, out of respect for its community and to avoid large gatherings,” the association said on social media Tuesday.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada visited the grieving neighbourhood on Tuesday and said the shooting has resonated far beyond the city.
She said Montrealers should continue to feel safe in their city, while acknowledging concerns about online discourse and gun violence.
“We need to ensure that the city is safe, but we also need to keep an eye on social media,” she said.
