Police looking into suspect’s motivations after Montreal shooting: official

MONTREAL — A federal official says police from various jurisdictions are looking into the suspect’s possible motivations after three people were killed Monday in a shooting in Montreal.

Montreal police officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, civilian bystander Michel Mizrahi and alleged gunman Seth Scott Hatfield of Lethbridge, Alta., died.

A manifesto, with metadata showing it was written June 8 by a Seth Hatfield, outlines a wide range of grievances against capitalism, pornography and bourgeois society, and a hatred of women aligned with the incel or “involuntarily celibate” mindset.

Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting, while Quebec provincial police have launched a parallel criminal probe.

A federal official said police from various jurisdictions are investigating whether the attack targeted police officers and the online pornography company Pornhub and whether any conclusions can be drawn from the manifesto. The Canadian Press is not naming the official because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

Aylo, the company behind Pornhub, released a statement expressing gratitude to first responders.

The company said it was aware of media reports mentioning “a possible connection to Aylo and Pornhub.”

“The investigation remains ongoing, and we will not speculate on motive or share unconfirmed information,” the statement reads.

Images circulating online indicate a long gun used in the shooting “appears to be an SKS,” said Francis Langlois, a history professor at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières who studies firearm issues.

The SKS has long been popular with hunters because it is inexpensive and reliable and the ammunition is easy to find, Langlois said.

The military service firearm became widely available in Canada in the 1990s following the demise of communist governments.

Since May 2020, Ottawa has outlawed about 2,500 types of firearms, including the AR-15 and Ruger Mini-14, on the basis they belong only on the battlefield.

It has not outlawed the SKS rifle, which is commonly used in Indigenous communities to hunt for food. It also has been used in police killings and other high-profile shootings in recent years.

Ottawa says it is carrying out a broad review of Canada’s firearms classification regime that will include consultations with Indigenous communities on the SKS.

Gun control advocacy groups have called on Ottawa to immediately end new SKS sales while exempting from prohibition models currently used by Indigenous hunters.

Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada visited Côte-des-Neiges on Tuesday and said the shooting has resonated far beyond the city. She said Montrealers should continue to feel safe in their city but acknowledged concerns about online discourse and gun violence.

“We have done a great deal of work on the matter of gun possession, but there is still a great deal left to do,” she said during a press conference Tuesday. “Guns don’t belong (in Montreal).”

The Côte-des-Neiges Business Development Corporation said it had cancelled planned Fête nationale celebrations “out of respect” for the community. The city also ordered municipal facilities in the borough closed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

— With files from Jim Bronskill in Ottawa