Be unflinching, go forth, and KILL THEM ALL
On a Monday afternoon in Montreal, a man in military camouflage opened fire in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, killing a police officer, a civilian, and ultimately himself — leaving behind a 104-page manifesto that Canadian authorities fear may inspire others to act. The document fuses incel ideology with racist conspiracy theories and an explicit call to violence against a sweeping list of institutions and individuals. This is not an isolated rupture but the latest point in a long, darkening line — one that stretches back to the 1989 Polytechnique massacre and forward into an uncertain present where grievance finds both community and instruction online. Canada is once again confronting the question of how a society contains an ideology that thrives precisely in the spaces it cannot easily reach.
- A gunman fired nearly thirty shots in a Montreal neighborhood, killing a police officer and a civilian before being shot dead himself — and witness footage now raises the troubling possibility that police accidentally killed the civilian in the chaos.
- The shooter left behind a 104-page manifesto — already amplified by a far-right media outlet — that names banks, politicians, surgeons, and 'influential Zionists' as targets and ends with an explicit command to kill.
- Canadian federal police issued a nationwide alert warning officers to remain highly vigilant, reflecting genuine fear that the document could function as a recruitment and instruction tool for copycat attackers.
- This is the third Canadian police officer killed in the line of duty this month, and the shooting lands in a country already shaped by a documented pattern of incel-inspired violence stretching back years.
- Political leaders from the premier of Quebec to the prime minister have responded with formal condolences, but their measured words carry the weight of a nation that has faced this threat before and has yet to find a way to stop it.
On a Monday afternoon in Montreal, a man dressed in military camouflage moved through the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood with a rifle. When police arrived, nearly thirty shots were fired. Three people died: Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, a thirty-four-year-old officer who had served since 2021; Michel Mizrahi, a civilian and Israeli citizen; and the gunman himself. A second officer was critically injured but is expected to survive. Witness footage has raised the possibility that Mizrahi was accidentally shot by police during the chaos — a detail now under investigation by Quebec's independent watchdog.
What followed was a nationwide alert. Canadian federal police distributed an urgent bulletin warning that the shooter had left behind a 104-page manifesto already posted online by Rebel News, a far-right outlet, making it immediately accessible. Officers across the country were told to remain highly vigilant, with authorities fearing the document could inspire copycat attacks.
The manifesto is a sprawling collision of incel ideology, racist conspiracy theories, and misogynistic grievance. The shooter blamed feminism, liberalism, and capitalism for what he called the 'terrible loneliness, isolation, and social degradation' of men. He listed what he called 'class A targets' — investment banks, politicians, corporate executives, plastic surgeons, cryptocurrency speculators — and closed with an explicit command to kill. The document reflects an ideology Canada has encountered before. A 2018 Toronto van attack killed ten people. A 2020 machete attack on a Toronto spa became the first incel-related incident formally designated as terrorism by Canadian courts. And behind all of it looms the 1989 Polytechnique massacre, where fourteen women were killed — an attack now understood as a precursor to the ideology that would later take shape online.
The timing sharpens the alarm. This is the third Canadian police officer killed this month; two RCMP officers were also shot and wounded the same day in Saskatchewan. Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette ordered flags to half mast. Prime Minister Mark Carney called himself 'horrified.' The statements are measured, but they carry the weight of a country confronting a threat it has struggled, repeatedly, to contain.
On a Monday afternoon in Montreal, a man dressed in military camouflage and carrying a rifle moved through the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood. When police arrived, the street erupted into gunfire—nearly thirty shots in rapid succession. When the shooting stopped, three people were dead: Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, a police officer who had served since 2021 and was thirty-four years old; the gunman himself; and Michel Mizrahi, a civilian and Israeli citizen. A second officer suffered critical injuries but is expected to survive. Witness video suggests police may have accidentally shot Mizrahi during the chaos, a detail now under investigation by Quebec's independent police watchdog.
What followed the shooting was a nationwide alert. Canada's federal police distributed an urgent bulletin to law enforcement agencies across the country warning that the gunman had left behind a 104-page manifesto that was "allegedly encouraging citizens to shoot police officers." The document had already been posted online by Rebel News, a far-right outlet, making it instantly accessible to anyone searching for it. Police were told to exercise extreme caution and remain highly vigilant. The warning reflected a fear that the manifesto might inspire others to act.
The document itself is a sprawling grievance. It blends the core complaints of the "incel" movement—men who identify as involuntarily celibate—with racist conspiracy theories and misogynistic ideology. The shooter blamed feminism, liberalism, and capitalism for what he described as the "situation of terrible loneliness, isolation, and social degradation" afflicting men. But the manifesto goes further. It lists what the author calls "valid potential class A targets": large investment banks, powerful politicians, people he identifies as "influential Zionists," corporate executives in private healthcare, companies involved in environmental destruction, plastic surgeons, cryptocurrency speculators, and the headquarters of international pornography companies. The document ends with a stark command: "Be unflinching, go forth, and KILL THEM ALL!"
Canada has seen this ideology before, and the pattern is darkening. In 2018, a van driver killed ten people and injured more than a dozen in Toronto, apparently motivated by incel grievances. In 2020, a man attacked a Toronto spa with a machete, killing one woman and seriously injuring another. That case became the first incel-related incident in Canada to be formally designated as an act of terrorism by the courts. The country is also still haunted by the 1989 attack on Montreal's Polytechnique engineering school, where a gunman killed fourteen women and injured fourteen others before taking his own life. That attack, which occurred decades before the term "incel" existed, is now understood as a precursor to the ideology that would later crystallize online.
The timing of Monday's shooting adds another layer of urgency. It marks the third Canadian police officer killed in the line of duty this month. Two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers were also shot and wounded on Monday in Saskatchewan during a property dispute. The accumulation of violence in such a short span has sharpened official concern about what might come next.
Quebec's premier, Christine Fréchette, said she was "deeply shocked and saddened" and ordered the provincial flag to fly at half mast. Prime Minister Mark Carney described himself as "horrified" and extended his thoughts to victims, their families, first responders, and the community. Montreal's mayor, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, offered condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the fallen officer. The statements are formal and measured, but they carry the weight of a country confronting a recurring threat it has struggled to contain.
Notable Quotes
There have been some rumors, there has been some information stating that the civilian was shot by a police officer. This is not the kind of information that we can share at this moment.— Ian Lafrenière, Quebec's domestic security minister
My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, the first responders, and the entire community of Côte-des-Neiges.— Prime Minister Mark Carney
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does the manifesto matter if the shooting is already over?
Because it's now public. A far-right outlet posted all 104 pages online. Anyone angry, isolated, or already drawn to these ideas can read it and see a roadmap—targets listed, ideology validated, a call to action at the end.
But the manifesto doesn't specifically mention police, right?
Correct. Yet the federal police bulletin says it's "allegedly encouraging citizens to shoot police officers." That's the gap—the document creates a general permission structure. It says the system is corrupt, the targets are everywhere, and violence is justified. Police are part of that system.
This is the third officer killed this month. Is that unusual?
Yes. It's a spike. And it's happening alongside a broader pattern—incel-motivated attacks in 2018, 2020, now 2026. Each one is separate, but they're not random. They're connected by ideology spreading online.
What about the civilian who was shot? How does that change the story?
It complicates it. Witness video suggests police may have killed him accidentally during the firefight. The independent watchdog is investigating. It raises a hard question: in a chaotic shooting, who bears responsibility for civilian deaths?
Is Canada doing anything to prevent copycat attacks?
They've issued alerts, told police to be vigilant. But the manifesto is already out there. You can't un-publish it. The real question is whether the ideology itself can be addressed—the loneliness, the grievance, the online communities that radicalize men into seeing violence as a solution.