Suspected Montreal shooter described as introvert who ‘avoided people’ by Lethbridge, Alta., neighbour

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The 25-year-old Lethbridge, Alta., man named as the suspected shooter in a Montreal attack that left three people dead is being described by neighbours as someone who rarely interacted with others.

Residents of his Lethbridge neighbourhood described Seth Scott Hatfield as someone who was largely introverted and kept to himself.

“I interacted with him maybe a couple of times,” said neighbour Trevor Wong on Wednesday.

“He was pretty remote, he didn’t seem happy or anything like that. He just seemed to be there, but kind of avoiding people.”

Investigators say Hatfield is responsible for Monday’s attack in Montreal that left a police officer and a civilian dead.

Hatfield, the alleged gunman, was also killed.

By Tuesday morning, Lethbridge police confirmed they were working with officials in Quebec.

Officers have not said if a high-risk search warrant in the southern Alberta city’s Varsity Village was connected, but neighbours told CTV News that Hatfield lived in one of the townhomes.

They said a vehicle belonging to Hatfield was also searched.

Police cleared out by Wednesday morning, leaving neighbours with questions.

“You don’t ever know about people, right?” said Wong. “You worry about some people, but it’s been a quiet neighbourhood out here.”

“Cause you always hear these things happening on TV and you never think it’s going to happen where you live,” said neighbour Julie Beer.

“I never saw the guy this was all about,” said Linda Lecoultre.

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

Former classmates said he was quiet and introverted.

The Holy Spirit Catholic School Division in Lethbridge issued a statement Wednesday, lamenting the “deeply painful event that occurred in Montreal.”

“Our hearts are heavy as we navigate the deeply painful event that occurred in Montreal yesterday. We are profoundly saddened by the act of violence that claimed lives and left others wounded,” it said.

Holy Spirit Catholic confirmed that Hatfield previously attended school within the division, but it would not provide further details or comments due to the ongoing investigation.

“As a community we choose to respond to this heartbreak with unity, compassion, and unwavering support for one another,” it said.

“We ask the faithful and the broader community to join us in continued prayer for strength, peace, and healing in the difficult days ahead.”

Police are piecing together Hatfield’s movements from southern Alberta to Montreal — and his motivation.

Investigators discovered a more than 100-page manifesto in his Montreal hotel room containing violent messages against women and police, along with themes inspired by the incel movement, blaming video games and pornography for increased loneliness in young men.

“These kinds of manifestos in the past have turned out to be the rantings of a person with mental health issues,” said Mount Royal University Criminal Studies professor Doug King.

The investigation continues.