Lethbridge, Alta., police aid in Montreal shooting, but won’t confirm home search is connected

Police in Montreal have identified 25-year-old Seth Hatfield as the suspect in Monday's shooting. Hatfield studied philosophy at University of Lethbridge.

Police in Lethbridge, Alta., say they are assisting the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) in connection with an investigation into a shooting that left three people dead in Montreal.

Thirty-four-year-old Montreal police (SPVM) officer Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, of Laval, and Michel Mizrahi, 68, of Montreal, both died when shots rang out in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood on Monday.

The Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) stopped short of saying the execution of a search warrant on a west-side home was connected to the investigation.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Officers were seen outside a home on Lemoyne Crescent in the city’s Varsity Village area on Tuesday morning.

LPS have not said anything about the investigation but evacuated nearby homes for the operation given “the possible presence of weapons” at the scene.

The suspected shooter, 25-year-old Seth Scott Hatfield of Lethbridge, Alta., also died in the shooting.

Hatfield graduated from Catholic Central High School in Lethbridge in 2019. He went on to study philosophy at the University of Lethbridge, where he appeared on the dean’s honour list for philosophy.

In a statement, the University of Lethbridge said it was “aware of the tragic event” and confirmed the shooter studied there.

“The Quebec coroner has confirmed the identity of the shooter. The University can confirm this individual was a University of Lethbridge student,” the school said.

The U of L said it “strongly condemns” the views that have been attributed to Hatfield, according to media reports.

Those reports said a manifesto was found in a Montreal hotel room that bears the same name as the alleged shooter.

The writing attacks the porn industry, likening it to a twisted substitute for real intimacy. The document frames watching pornography as an activity done in isolation because certain men are otherwise excluded from romantic and sexual partnerships.

“The University of Lethbridge expresses its sincere condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of those who lost their lives or were injured in Montreal yesterday,” the school said in a statement.

“Violence, such as the actions that occurred yesterday, has no place in our society.

Lethbridge mayor Blaine Hyggen told reporters Tuesday that his thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.

This is a developing story and we will have more information when it is available.

With files from CTV Montreal’s Joe Lofaro