Man charged after death threat against Jewish man in Montreal released from custody

Montreal police arrested a suspect after receiving reports of a man making 'threats and hateful remarks' toward a group of people in St-Laurent.

A man arrested for allegedly threatening a Jewish man and several other people in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough last week has been released from custody with conditions.

Montreal police were called to a residential street last Friday after getting 911 calls about a man making “threats and hateful remarks” toward a group of people.

A short video posted on social media shows part of the altercation. In the video, a man can be heard saying “we will kill you” and “you f-cking pig” when speaking to people, including at least one of them being a member of the Jewish community, before walking away.

Court records show that Sid Ali Tamrabet, 28 of Montreal, was charged on Saturday with three criminal offences.

He is accused of harassment of a woman and her family between Aug. 10 and Aug. 15, causing them “to reasonably fear for her safety or the safety of anyone known to her.”

The accused is also facing two counts of uttering death threats after he allegedly threatened a man between Aug. 10 and Aug. 15 and threatened two other men on Aug. 9.

Tamrabet has no prior criminal record in Quebec.

According to the Crown prosecution office, he was scheduled over the weekend to meet with a court-appointed criminologist mandated to assess people who are detained and suspected of having a mental health problem. The criminological assessment is a service provided by Urgence psychosociale-Justice, which is part of the Philippe-Pinel psychiatric hospital in Montreal.

After appearing in court Monday, he was released from custody with conditions, which include that he not communicate, be in the presence of, “harass, bother, follow or spy on” the alleged victims. He is also prohibited from possessing any weapons.

The accused is due back in court on Oct. 29.

The incident was condemned by Jewish organizations, including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which said last week that it was pleased that police made a swift arrest.

“Those who seek to threaten members of our community must be held accountable. If you see something, say something,” the group said in the statement.

The incident in Saint-Laurent also came days after a Jewish father was attacked in front of his children in the city’s Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough. The accused in that case, 23-year-old Sergio Yanes Preciado of Montreal, was arrested and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine whether or not he understands the charges against him. He is facing one count of assault causing bodily harm.

The victim was hospitalized for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to police.