The Motive Behind Monday’s Montréal Massacre
On Monday, June 22, 2026, at approximately 11:35 AM, a 25-year-old Albertan man named Seth Scott Hatfield positioned the barrel of his SKS-style rifle out of an upper floor window of the Hilton Garden Inn hotel.
Several SPVM police officers responded and headed to the Côte-des-Neiges hotel to confront the suspicious individual.
Upon arriving, the police were met with a barrage of bullets, they were under ambush.
Hatfield had seemingly planned the attack, wearing military-style-clothing and carrying extra magazines of semi-automatic rifle rounds.
Dozens of bullets were fired in the ensuing gun fight and the suspect was killed on the scene.
Sadly one citizen, 68 year old Michael Mizrahi was caught in the crossfire and died. Additionally, one SPVM officer, 34 year old Mohamed Lamine Benredouane bravely gave his life protecting others. Another officer was also hit and critically injured but now is in stable condition.
With all the evidence, (the man coming from Alberta, armed, in military clothing, scoping the area) it’s clear this was not some random incident but a coordinated strike.
The question becomes, was this the attack the shooter had planned or did the SPVM interrupt it just in time, charging bravely into the line of fire?
More importantly, what was the motive behind all of this?
The Shooters Manifesto and Motives
The clear planning involved gives us a clue, but the shooter’s 104-page manifesto gives us an even better one.
Initially, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed the existence of the manifesto but refused to comment on what it included.
However, thanks to reporting by Le Journal De Montréal, who obtained the manifesto, the shooter was an anti-capitalist or communist revolutionary. Something many mainstream outlets conveniently ignored.
For instance he wrote:
“We must not allow any liberal or capitalist enclave to continue to exist after we take power… Arm yourselves with whatever you can get your hands on, whether it’s a blade, a rifle, a bomb, or all of the above”.
If this message of violence against the current economic structure wasn’t clear enough, he ends the piece by saying:
“Be steadfast, move forward, and KILL THEM ALL!”
It’s unclear however, if the them he was referring to was the police officers he ended up targeting or another group.
A second motive is seemingly anti-woman. Throughout the manifesto, the shooter expresses resentment toward both women and men who are more successful in dating than he was.
According to reporting by Global News, the shooter referred to himself as “involuntarily lonely” which mirrors ‘involuntarily celibate’ also known as incel culture online. This culture often blames women for not being sexually attracted to them.
Various mass shooters from the neighboring United States, like Elliot Rodger, referenced this same ideology before committing horrible crimes.
The Côte-des-Neiges shooter also criticized the pornograpgy industry while at the same time acknowledging his own consumption. Here the real target becomes clear.
Across the street from the shooting was the office of Aylo… the parent company of Pornhub.
So it makes sense. The man was simultaneously addicted to porn and blamed it for not letting him get the life he wanted.
Furthermore the attacker regularly wrote criticisms of Israel and his attack was in a mostly Jewish neighborhood.
A porn studio in a Jewish neighborhood was the perfect target for him to enact his anti-woman anti-capitalist fantasy of violence.
Montréalers React
Montréalers were shocked Tuesday morning as an alert rang loudly on their phones warning “Armed and dangerous suspect in Côte-des-Neiges Neighborhood…”
Côte-des-Neiges was immediately placed into lockdown and those in the surrounding area we’re told to stay inside as SPVM officers swarmed the scene.
It was only hours later that officers confirmed the area was safe but by this time the city was already shaken with the news.
Initially, fears that the neighborhood was targeted because of its high jewish population including one of the victims sparked debate.
But on Wednesday June 24, the city came together at the Islamic Center of Quebec with more than 1000 mourners for the slain officer.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette, and Montréal mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada also expressed their condolences.
Meanwhile, feminists in Montréal led a women’s march against misogyny and the incel culture, which led to the shooting and a 1989 École Polytechnique Massacre.
While the immediate threat has ended, many across the city are wondering if its part of a wider trend of violence…
A Month of Violence in Montréal
June 2026 has brought a dramatic increase of violent crime to Montréal.
Prior to June, the city of Montréal had just eight total homicides in the year so far, averaging just 1.6 murders per month.
The two victims of this recent attack, make the third and fourth homicide victims just this month. More than double the monthly average.
The first homicide of the month occurred on June 2nd inside a Walmart in Henri-Bourassa. An altercation ended in a lethal stabbing.
Then just two days later, on the night of June 3rd, a 22 year old man was shot in Turin park overnight.
Shockingly less than 24 hours later a 33 year old man was fatally shot inside his Laval on June 4th. This shooting didn’t count in the official homicide count for the city of Montréal, but it was one of the three high profile shootings in the greater metro area.
Many in the city are wondering if this was just a coincidence or if this is the start of a more disturbing trend of Montréal actually becoming more dangerous.
And if it is getting more dangerous, what is being done about it?
