Little is known about the 25-year-old suspect in a Montreal shooting that killed a civilian and left one police officer dead and another wounded.
The Quebec coroner identified the alleged shooter as Seth Scott Hatfield of Lethbridge, Alberta on Tuesday, The Canadian Press and other news sources report.
Also Tuesday, Lethbridge Police said they were conducting a high-risk search at a home along Lemoyne Crescent in the city’s Varsity Village neighbourhood.
“As a precautionary measure, due to the possible presence of weapons, several neighbouring residences have been evacuated,” police said in a press release . “Members of the public are directed to avoid the area at this time.”
The shooter was wearing military clothing when he opened fire. He had a long firearm, and footage shows him charging at officers outside the Hilton Hotel in Montreal.
A manifesto allegedly written by the suspect, 104 pages in length, has been circulating online.
It does not use the term “incel” but has been described as being incel in nature. The term, short for “involuntarily celibate,” is a label used by people who describe themselves as unable to form romantic or sexual relationships despite wanting them.
The manifesto often uses the term “biological imperative” to describe the behaviour of men and women, arguing that men are inclined to seek many partners, while women focus on a small number of highly desirable men, leaving many average men or “common males” isolated. Much blame is levelled at what it calls “high capitalist” societies.
Some online incel communities have become associated with misogynistic views that blame women for these perceived romantic failures.
The manifesto, which is written in the form of a scientific paper, with subheads and footnotes, ends on the phrase: “Be unflinching, go forth, and KILL THEM ALL!”
The Canadian Press reported that a police spokesperson in British Columbia said forces across the province were warned after the shooting of the possibility of an anti-police manifesto.
“Following the tragic events of what happened in Montreal earlier today, police in British Columbia were advised that there is the possibility of either documentation or some type of manifesto that is rumoured to be out there calling on individuals to target and commit violence against police officers,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton with the Surrey Police Service told the outlet.
However, the manifesto does not appear to be anti-police in nature. “I don’t hold to a one-sided view about the police,” it states, suggesting that one can “only pretend” to shoot at police, “firing over their heads or below their feet.”
The Montreal police officer killed on Monday has been identified as 34-year-old Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane. “It is with profound sadness that we confirm the tragic death of Const. Mohamed Lamine Benredouane while on duty protecting the public,” reads a statement from Montreal police issued Monday evening. He had been with the force since 2021.
The civilian victim was 68-year-old Michael Mizrahi . Rabbi Mendel Raskin, who confirmed the news to Montreal Gazette, said he had been Mizrahi’s rabbi for more than 30 years at Beth Chabad in Côte-St-Luc.
“Everybody loved him,” Raskin said, describing Mizrahi as a generous Jewish man who sold suits for a living.
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