A witness said he saw two police officers chasing the man and shouting for him to stop before they fired their weapons.
Farshad Mohammadi, 34, was identified through fingerprints. He wasn’t carrying identification at the time of the confrontation at the Bonaventure Metro station, according to Quebec provincial police.
Mohammadi was homeless and had been living out of shelters.
Provincial police, who are investigating the shooting, said Mohammadi attacked one of the two responding officers with a knife and one of the officers then shot the suspect.
A police officer was treated for cuts to his neck and torso.
A witness who was near the Metro ticket window said he saw two police officers take out their weapons, a gun and a baton. The witness said they shouted for the suspect to stop, but he refused and started to run.
The witness said he heard three shots after the officers and the suspect turned a corner.
Several other witnesses said the man refused to stop after several demands from police.
Staff and clients at the Maison du Père shelter in Montreal said Mohammadi spent Christmas and New Year’s there.
They said he had immigrated from Iran and had been using the shelter’s services since 2008. It wasn’t known how he got a visa for Canada if he didn’t have the means to care for himself.
He was reserved and did not speak French, said France Desjardins of Maison du Père.
“Somebody was asking me if he had problems with mental illness. It’s difficult for us to assess because he was not engaging in any dialogue with us,” she said. “He was not somebody to ask for more help.”
Mohammadi’s death is the second time in less than a year that a homeless man has been killed by Montreal police.
Last June, a homeless man wielding a knife was shot and killed on a downtown street. An innocent bystander was also struck and killed during that shooting.
The latest fatality has shone a light on the often difficult relationship between police and the city’s homeless.
Matthew Pearce, director general of Montreal’s Old Brewery Mission shelter where Mohammadi once stayed, described it as “not an easy and comfortable one. Typically, the police are the ones who are moving [the homeless] on from where they are,” he told the Canadian Press.
“A large percentage of the homeless population suffers from mental illnesses. Consequently, they become more unpredictable in a situation where the tensions rise.”
At a soup kitchen Moham-madi used to frequent, several men and women who lined up for lunch expressed their anger and frustration that the altercation involving Mohammadi ended in his death.
Andre, a homeless man who declined to give his last name, said some police officers, particularly young recruits, don’t know how to deal with people living on the street.
Some of the more seasoned officers are better trained, but there aren’t enough of them, he said.
Andre, who was forced out of his apartment and now lives in his truck, said Mohammadi spoke a little French and English. “He was curt,” said Andre. “He wouldn’t talk to you if he didn’t know you,… but I never saw him doing anything violent.”
The head of Montreal’s police brotherhood said the fatal shooting shows there are holes in Quebec’s mental health system.
Yves Francoeur said police aren’t equipped to deal with people who live on the streets. He said police often have to deal with homeless people when they are in crisis. He said those situations could be prevented if the health care system was able to intervene.
“There’s a lot of people before us who are more qualified than us to work with them, but because of a lack of resources, they don’t do what they’re supposed to do,” said Francoeur.
Pierre Gaudreau, who runs an umbrella group working for the homeless, said he agreed with Francoeur, that there aren’t enough resources. But he said the police protocol is also part of the problem. “In too many situations, the solution is shooting, a shooting that kills people,” said Gaudreau.
Under Quebec law, police shootings are investigated by another police force. This shooting by a Montreal city police officer is being investigated by the Quebec provincial police.
