While dozens of Montrealers assembled outside of the Montreal Holocaust Museum, a handful of squad cars remained parked nearby to maintain control at the scene.
Community members - from Jewish and other cultural backgrounds - gathered in remembrance of the eight men and three women who were gunned down inside the Tree of Life Synagogue during worship services on Sunday.
Police have since arrested and laid charges against Robert Gregory Bowers, an outspoken antisemite who expressed a hatred of Jews on his social media accounts.
"The zealots, the fanatics, the killers harbour the illusion they represent a greater population than themselves," said Montreal's Rabbi Reuben Poupko. "The purpose of having religious leaders and politicians speak out is to show they represent no one but themselves."
Squirrel Hill, the Pittsburgh neighbourhood where the shooting took place, is historically a Jewish area. Cote-St-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein said his city, which is among the most Jewish in Montreal, feels a kinship.
"Squirrel Hill is very similar to Cote-St-Luc, so it really resonates with the residents," he said.
Quebec has had its own history of racially-motivated violence. Samer Majzoub of the Canadian Muslim Forum attended the gathering and said the Pittsburgh shooting is reminiscent of the 2017 shooting in a Quebec City mosque that left six people dead.
"It revived the sorrow and misery of the Quebec shooting in the mosque," he said. "People who were shot because of their faith."
Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith recorded a record 1,752 anti-semitic incidents in Canada in 2017, double the year before, with 400 of them taking place in Quebec.
Sunday's gathering in Montreal drew activists and local politicians, including Liberal MP David Birnbaum.
Premier Francois Legault tweeted out his condolences, urging Quebecers to "be united in the face of hate and racism."
Scène d’horreur à Pittsburgh. Au nom de tous les Québécois et Québécoises, nous offrons toutes nos sympathies et notre soutien aux familles et aux proches des victimes, de même qu’à la communauté juive de Pittsburgh. Soyons unis contre la haine et le racisme. #Pittsburgh
— François Legault (@francoislegault) October 27, 2018
Mayor Valerie Plante also spoke out against Bowers's actions on her Twitter account, telling Montrealers "we cannot remain silent when terror and hate strike so close to us."
We cannot remain silent when terror and hatred strike so close to us. As Mayor of Montréal, I offer our sympathies to the city of Pittsburgh, to the families of the officers who put their lives at risk, and to the Jewish community which was directly attacked. We share your pain.
— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) October 27, 2018
In light of Saturday's events, Montreal police say they are increasing patrols around Montreal's synagogues.
"The SPVM would like to offer support to [the Jewish community] following the incident that occurred in Pittsburgh," they said in a statement. "Although we are not aware of any direct or indirect threats in our jurisdiction at the this time, we wish to inform you that our patrol officers are vigilant and available."
Poupko said Jewish community leaders had been in contact with the SPVM.
"They reached out to us first, to assure us of increased patrols of our institutions, our schools and our synagogues," he said.
