Montreal Police Arrest Muslim Suspect In Connection With Shots Fired At Yeshiva Gedolah Of Montreal

A 20-year-old suspect, Abdirazak Mahdi Ahmed, was arrested and charged on Wednesday in connection with shots fired at a Jewish school in the Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough last fall.

Ahmed, of Les Cèdres, appeared in Quebec Court and was charged with intentionally discharging a firearm, theft, and receiving stolen vehicles, and committing mischief. The Crown objected to his release, and he will remain detained until a hearing on Thursday.

As earlier reported by YWN, on November 12, around 5 a.m., gunshots were heard on Deacon Rd., near Van Horne Ave., with a suspect seen shooting in the direction of the Yeshiva Gedolah of Montreal before fleeing in a getaway vehicle. Police found impacts from firearm projectiles on the school door and shell casings on the ground.

This incident was the second shooting at the yeshiva in just four days, following shots fired at it and the Talmud Torah on St-Kevin Ave. overnight. The week prior, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a shul and Jewish community center in the West Island.

Eta Yudin of The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs released a statement applauding police for the arrest.

“This attack marked a significant change in the threats experienced by the Jewish community in Quebec since Oct. 7 and well before,” Yudin said. “The stress and anxiety it caused the Jewish community since then cannot be underestimated, as we have had to endure intimidation after intimidation, as well as serial violence and antisemitism.”

“While the escalation of violence and hatred against our community only continues, we are nonetheless pleased that further charges may be brought against the suspect. This senseless act, this act of terror, must lead to more serious charges, as we have often repeated since the Hamas attacks. This will send a strong message that targeting a community with such acts is unacceptable. We must remember that some politicians had rightly declared that shooting at schools was a form of terrorism.”

“The safety of Jewish Quebecers is at stake, but so is the safety of all Montrealers.”