Man, 20, charged after shooting at Jewish school in Montreal last November

A 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a shooting at a Jewish school in Montreal last fall.

The accused was arrested Wednesday in the LaSalle borough and appeared in court to face charges of discharging a firearm, theft and receiving stolen vehicles. Police did not release the name of the accused.

Quebec's Crown prosecution office confirmed in an email that the accused is Mahdi Ahmed Abdirazak. 

On Nov. 12, Montreal police were called at around 5 a.m. to the Jewish School Yeshiva Gedola on Deacon Road in the city's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood and found bullet holes in the facade of the building. No one was inside at the time of the shooting and no injuries were reported.

Witnesses told police that they saw a vehicle speeding off after the shots were fired.

Police search an area near the Yeshiva Gedolah Jewish school after shots were fired at the school in Montreal, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

It was the second time in three days that a Jewish school was hit by gunfire. In the overnight hours of Nov. 9, someone fired gunshots at the building and at another Jewish school – the United Talmud Torahs of Montreal – prompting police to open hate crime investigations.

The shootings shocked the city's Jewish community and were publicly condemned by the police, the mayor and other political leaders.

Police said on Wednesday that they are still investigating whether other suspects were involved in the Nov. 12 shooting.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact 911 or their local station. Anonymous reports can also be filed by calling Info-Crime Montréal at 514-393-1133.