Seth Hatfield Kills 2 in Montreal Antisemitic Attack, Wounding 1 Officer

Q: How did the Montreal shooter acquire a banned SKS-style rifle for his deadly attack?

It is not yet publicly known how the Montreal gunman obtained the SKS-style rifle used in the attack. The reporting available so far confirms that a rifle resembling an SKS was found near the shooter after the Côte-des-Neiges attack, but police and other authorities have not released details on its provenance, whether it was legally owned before being prohibited, obtained through the black market, stolen, or modified. What is clear is that the case is likely to intensify scrutiny of Canada’s gun-control system. The SKS has been at the center of debate over Canada’s ban on “assault-style” firearms and the still-contested buyback framework. Critics have long argued that bans are only as effective as enforcement, tracing, and action against illicit trafficking, while supporters say tighter controls are still necessary to reduce access to high-risk weapons. At this stage, the key unanswered questions for investigators are the rifle’s exact classification, serial history, ownership trail, and whether the suspect had any lawful firearms access. Until police disclose tracing results, any claim about how he acquired the weapon would be speculative.

Q: What chilling motives were revealed in the gunman's manifesto sent to media before the shooting?

The manifesto revealed that the gunman was driven by a mix of extremist hate ideologies and a desire to trigger wider violence. According to reporting, it promoted white supremacist and neo-Nazi beliefs, praised Adolf Hitler, and celebrated previous mass killers as “heroes” and “inspirations.” It also expressed strong antisemitic motives. Authorities and local reports said the attack appeared aimed at Jewish businesses in a heavily Jewish area, and the manifesto repeatedly blamed Jews for society’s problems while endorsing violence against them. It also contained Islamophobic, anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-gay and anti-trans rhetoric. Another key motive was “accelerationism” — the idea of using mass violence to destabilize society and spark broader conflict or “race war.” The document reportedly called for maximizing death and destruction, spreading the ideology, and dying during the attack. The manifesto also included misogynistic and male-supremacist themes, portraying women and feminism as enemies and drawing from online incel culture. Investigators said the text reflected hatred across “a wide aspect of races and religions,” making clear that the shooting was not random but rooted in an extremist worldview designed to terrorize multiple communities.

3 articles · Updated · The FP · Jun 24

Monday's shooting in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges left police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, 34, and Jewish bystander Michel Mizrahi, 68, dead before alleged gunman Seth Hatfield, 25, was killed.
The attack unfolded in a dense Jewish neighborhood near kosher restaurants, schools and community centers, and reports described it as a lone-gunman assault targeting the community.
Another officer was seriously injured, adding to pressure on Canadian authorities already confronting violence tied to antisemitic threats.
Just 11 days earlier, Toronto officer Marc Pinizzotto, 43, was killed in a probe linked to shootings at synagogues, Jewish day schools and the U.S. Consulate.
The two killings of officers in less than two weeks have intensified scrutiny of what Prime Minister Mark Carney has called a crisis of antisemitism in Canada.