A ZAKA volunteer at the scene told N12 that the attackers rented a hotel room and opened fire on police from the room's interior. At least one officer was hit; the attackers are still at large. All streets within a 500-meter radius are closed.
A new detail from the Montreal shooting scene emerged Monday evening, as a ZAKA volunteer described to N12 that the attackers rented a hotel room and opened fire on police from inside the room. Moshe Balch, a volunteer who lives in the area, said he heard gunshots and was immediately ordered to shelter. He said he understood at least one officer was wounded. All suspects remain at large, and a 500-meter cordon is in place. The information comes from a single source and has not been independently corroborated by Canadian authorities as of 20:42 Jerusalem time.
As The Zioneer reported beginning at 19:59 Jerusalem, initial accounts described multiple gunmen entering a kosher supermarket and holding hostages. By 20:38, Montreal's Chabad emissary, Rabbi Chaim Cohen, told The Zioneer that one gunman had been captured and a second remained at large. Other background dispatches at 20:09 and 20:17 described an officer wounded and a resident lockdown. The ZAKA volunteer's account, first published at 19:59 alongside reports of hostages inside the supermarket and updated at 20:21 with a manhunt for two suspects, now adds this tactical detail of a rented hotel room used as a firing position.
Background reporting by The Zioneer noted the attack occurred near a Chabad center and a kosher supermarket in the Westbury area, prompting a large police deployment. The Chabad emissary earlier told The Zioneer that about 100 people were evacuated from a nearby hotel into the Chabad center for safety.
What remains open: The number and status of any hostages, the fate of the second suspect (still listed as at large), and whether the hotel-room account can be confirmed by Canadian authorities or additional sources.
5 developments
- StrongZAKA says teams on the ground in Montreal as Jewish community monitors wounded
- StrongNew footage from Montreal attack scene shows police operation underway
- DevelopingMontreal shooter reportedly traveled from Alberta; motive uncertain — unconfirmed reports raise 'contracted' theory
- DevelopingZAKA launches volunteer recruitment drive in Tel Aviv district
Source and signal
- Open-source intake