Canada

5.5 years for Montreal yeshiva shooting

Abderrazak Mahdi Ahmed, 23, pleaded guilty to firing at Yeshiva Gedola Merkaz HaTorah in November 2023; judge calls the attack cowardly but prosecution could not prove antisemitic motive

Jfeed Staff

NOV 10, 2026 09:38

1 min read

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A Montreal court sentenced a 23-year-old man to five and a half years in prison on Monday after he pleaded guilty to firing at Yeshiva Gedola Merkaz HaTorah in November 2023. The attack took place at five in the morning, when the building was empty.

Abderrazak Mahdi Ahmed arrived at the yeshiva with an accomplice in a stolen vehicle, fired at the front door, and fled. Investigators found three bullet holes and four shell casings at the scene. Judge Pierre Labelle did not mince words: "Anyone who attacks a school in this manner is, in the eyes of this court, a coward."

The shooting occurred against the backdrop of a wave of attacks on Jewish institutions across Canada in the weeks following October 7. Yet the prosecution acknowledged it could not prove an antisemitic motive. "We did not have enough evidence to present beyond a reasonable doubt that this was a hate crime," the prosecutor said.

B'nai Brith Canada welcomed the sentence and said it sends a clear message: those who attack Jewish institutions will be held accountable. At the same time, the organization warned that violence against the Jewish community in the country continues to rise.

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