In a tense incident in Montreal, a police officer was killed in a shootout on Monday. Authorities urged residents to shelter in place for nearly three hours as they searched for a suspect.
Police reported one gunman was killed at the scene. However, they continued their search for a second suspect. Eventually, police confirmed no additional threat existed. Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher stated, “The immediate threat to the public is no longer present. Shelter-in-place is no longer required.”
The shooting occurred in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, near a high-rise building. The ground floor housed commercial units including a grocery store and a restaurant.
Chief Dagher explained officers responded to reports of a firearm seen outside a hotel window. Upon arrival, the officers came under fire, leading to a gunfight.
“Today, one of ours has fallen in the line of duty,” Chief Dagher declared during an afternoon news conference. He noted it was the first police officer killed in the city in 24 years.
The province of Quebec issued an emergency alert just after 12:30 p.m., warning of an armed and dangerous suspect. Residents were advised to shelter away from windows and lock their doors.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada expressed her condolences. “My deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the police officer who died in the line of duty,” she posted on social media.
Near the shooting site, Mordy Aisenstark, a restaurant manager, heard gunshots around 11:30 a.m. He quickly gathered his staff and escaped through the back of his store. Later, he observed the apparent shooter dead on the ground in camouflage gear, next to a firearm. Law enforcement led the restaurant staff to a bathroom instructing them to shelter in place.
Ian Lafrenière, Quebec’s domestic security minister, stated all policing resources were committed to the investigation but specifics were not provided. “For now, we don’t really know what the motive of this individual was,” he remarked regarding the assailant.