Videos emerged of a dramatic gun battle in Montreal on Monday, including two that show a bystander possibly shot by police, or by the active shooter shortly before his own death. However, the videos are inconclusive and police have not said who killed the civilian.
Just before noon on Monday, an unidentified man clad in camouflage and carrying a long gun opened fire on police officers in the neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges, killing one and wounding another.
The attack began after police arrived to address 911 reports of an armed man seen in the window of a Hilton Hotel. Once on scene, however, they immediately came under fire by a gunman at ground level.
“It was a 911 call from a citizen telling us that somebody was shooting from a specific place, and at that moment when police came, that person wasn’t on the specific floors, he was already on the ground floor,” Montreal police chief Fady Dagher said in a press briefing.
One video, taken from the upper floors of a building overlooking the street , appears to show the immediate aftermath of the opening shots, with two officers already taking cover behind a large planter.
Shooting in Cote des neiges. https://t.co/g14clkpNh6
— Daniel J (@DanielnCanada) June 22, 2026
The 34-second video shows a man creeping around a corner to fire on the officers, passing by an older pedestrian seemingly unaware of the danger.
Loud booms are heard, before the two officers can be seen scrambling to cover around the opposite side of the planter. The video pans to the shooter crouched a few metres away, before panning back to reveal that one of the officers, service pistol in hand, is now sprawled forward in front of a parked Porsche, leaving behind a trail of blood.
A second video, taken from street level about, shows the stricken officer rolling onto his back, and then back onto his stomach and then attempting to crawl forward before lying motionless on the ground.
It was in this position that the officer’s body, still clutching his pistol, can be seen in video taken after the threat had been neutralized.
The video then appears to show a bystander in a black T-shirt attempting to take cover with the second officer behind the planter, only to be struck himself, falling to the ground.
The officer was seen to be startled by the man’s appearance and angled her pistol towards him.
But it’s not clear if she discharged her pistol or if the bystander was struck by the active shooter. The video taken from overhead shows the bystander crumple to the ground as the shooter stands and walks towards the police officer, apparently firing as he approaches.
Within seconds of the bystander being struck, the video taken from ground level shows the gunman charging around the corner with gun raised, causing the officer to flee off-camera .
🚨 HORROR FOOTAGE: TERROR IN MONTREAL – ARMED SUSPECT IN CAMO CLOTHING OPENS FIRE ON POLICE pic.twitter.com/OJYWY50547
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 22, 2026
The shooter is seen firing several aimed shots in her direction, before also taking cover behind the planter, flanked on either side by the prone figures of the first officer and the bystander. It was in this position that the shooter’s body could be seen in post-incident images, although police could not confirm whether he was struck by the female officer or an Emergency Response Team scrambled to the scene.
The attack marks the first time since 2002 that a Montreal police officer has been killed in the line of duty. It also comes amid a sudden spike of violence targeting Canadian police officers.
Earlier this month, OPP officer Tarun Bali and Toronto Police Constable Marc Pinizzotto were both killed in separate operations in Ontario. On the same day as the Montreal attack, two RCMP officers were also shot in an incident in Melville, Sask.
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