Guilty Plea — Cote-des-Neiges

Man Pleads Guilty in Montreal Yeshiva Shooting; Crown Cites Insufficient Evidence of Hate Crime

By: Gangland Files | Originally reported Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 6:01 p.m. EDT | Plea entered Wednesday, September 9, 2026 | Shooting November 12, 2023, Cote-des-Neiges, Montreal

49mm Casings Recovered

3Bullet Holes in the Door

5.5 yrsSentence the Crown Sought

0Prior Convictions

MONTREAL — A man has pleaded guilty to one count of discharging a firearm at the Yeshiva Gedola in Cote-des-Neiges, almost three years after somebody put rounds into the front of a Jewish school at five in the morning. CTV News Montreal reported the plea on Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 6:01 p.m. EDT; it was entered on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. The Crown asked for five and a half years.

Update, November 2026: the man was later sentenced to 66 months. Read the sentencing briefing.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the case rests on a stolen car, a mask, a glove, cell tower data, and statements the accused made in custody to an undercover officer placed in his cell.

The Agreed Statement of Facts

The shooting: November 12, 2023. Montreal police were called around 5 a.m. to the Yeshiva Gedola in Cote-des-Neiges and found bullet holes in the facade
Physical evidence: Three bullet holes in the door of the school; four 9mm shell casings recovered at the scene
Casualties: None. Nobody was inside the building at the time
The vehicle: A stolen Acura RDX used as a getaway car, later abandoned
The DNA: The accused’s DNA was found inside the Acura, including on a face mask and a glove found in the vehicle
The phone: Cell tower data placed his phone near the school, and near where the stolen vehicle was later abandoned
The arrest: May 22, 2024, in the LaSalle borough, six months after the shooting
In custody: An undercover officer was placed in the same cell. Statements the accused made while in custody tied him to the discharge
The plea: One count of discharging a firearm, entered Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Record: No prior criminal record. Crown position: Five and a half years. Sentencing: Set for October 19 at the time of the plea

The Crown on a Hate Crime

Crown prosecutor Jean-Christofe Ardeneus said in an interview that there was not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting was a hate crime. The statement concerns whether the evidence could meet that burden; it is not a finding about why the shooting happened. The plea is to discharging a firearm.

Ardeneus explained that sentencing was postponed so that members of Montreal’s Jewish community could address the court about the shooting’s impact. Eta Yudin, senior vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said on social media that the organization intended to be present in court for the sentencing and expected the sentence to reflect the severity of the act.

It Was the Second School in Three Days

The November 12, 2023 shooting did not stand alone. Three days earlier, in the overnight hours of November 9, someone fired at the same building and at another Jewish school, the United Talmud Torahs of Montreal. Police opened hate crime investigations into those shootings. The plea covers only the November 12 shooting.

What Is Still Unknown

No motive has been made public. No co-accused has been identified, and it is not known whether anyone else was in the Acura. The firearm is described only by the 9mm casings, and whether it was recovered has not been made public. Who reported the shooting, which SPVM unit ran the investigation, and how the stolen Acura was linked to the shooting have not been made public either. What the accused told the undercover officer is known only through the agreed statement’s characterisation.

No gang, street group, criminal organization or outlaw motorcycle club appears in the agreed facts as reported.

The conviction rests on a guilty plea to a single count. The Crown’s proposed five and a half years was a submission, not a decision.

Timeline — November 2023 to October 2026

Overnight, November 9, 2023 — The First AttackShots are fired at the Yeshiva Gedola and at the United Talmud Torahs of Montreal. Police open hate crime investigations.

About 5 a.m., November 12, 2023 — The Shooting in This CaseMontreal police are called to the Yeshiva Gedola and find bullet holes in the facade. Three are in the door. Four 9mm casings are recovered. Nobody is inside; nobody is hurt.

Afterward — The AcuraA stolen Acura RDX used as a getaway car is abandoned. The accused’s DNA is later found inside it, including on a face mask and a glove. Cell tower data places his phone near the school and near the abandoned vehicle.

May 22, 2024 — The ArrestMontreal police arrest a man in the LaSalle borough. CBC News reported at the time that the suspect was 20.

Following the Arrest — The CellAn undercover officer is placed in the same cell as the accused. Statements he makes in custody tie him to the November 12 discharge.

Wednesday, September 9, 2026 — The PleaThe accused pleads guilty to one count of discharging a firearm. The Crown suggests five and a half years. Sentencing is postponed so community members can address the court.

Thursday, September 10, 2026, 6:01 p.m. EDT — First ReportedCTV News Montreal publishes its report on the plea and the agreed statement of facts, including Crown prosecutor Jean-Christofe Ardeneus’s explanation that there was not enough evidence to prove a hate crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

October 19, 2026 — Sentencing Date Set at the PleaThe accused, who has no prior criminal record, was scheduled to be sentenced.

SPVM

Directeur des Poursuites Criminelles et Pénales

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