Man dies after being shot 'six times in chest' by Montreal police; police watchdog investigating

Police responding to an incident on Thursday in Montreal shot a man wielding an exacto knife "six times in the chest," said a witness, and according to video reviewed by CTV.

The man has died, Quebec's independent police watchdog agency has confirmed.

Montreal police are not commenting on the incident. It is being investigated by the watchdog agency, the BEI, which is responsible for looking into all Quebec police responses that end with someone dead or injured.

Mark Kimble, who lives on the corner of the street where the shooting happened, had just arrived home from work and took video of the events as they unfolded just outside what he called "a well-known drug den in the area."

The address is on Des Erables St. near Richardson St. in the Lachine borough. 

"The guy that they shot, he came running down the stairs with what I believe was an exacto knife, and they just opened fire on him," Kimble said.

Sources familiar with the incident said police were responding to a 911 call about a man attacking his roommates.

"Shortly after 1:00 p.m., a call was made to 911 to the effect that a man had just attacked people with a sharp object" in a Lachine residence, the BEI wrote in their preliminary report, published at 3:45 p.m.

"Upon arrival at the scene, the police reportedly spotted the man who allegedly had a sharp object in his possession. He allegedly charged at the police, and they opened fire in his direction."

The man was "hit by at least one projectile" and was pronounced dead in hospital, the BEI wrote.

Kimble said that the man had no obvious blood on him when he came down the interior staircase of the building and into the street.

"I do believe they tried to taze him first and it didn't work," Kimble said. "They shot the guy six times in the chest."

CTV has reviewed the video and also heard six gunshots. The video shows officers pulling up to the scene, where they approached the front door of the building, whose door was already open.

Officers surrounded the doorway, with at least one right in the doorway, with weapons drawn. In the video, they are yelling at someone who can't yet be seen, inside the building.

A man then comes running out of the house, with the officers quickly backing away. They open fire, at which point the man drops to the ground and throws a box-cutter or exacto knife into the street. Police roll him over, hancduff him and then turn him back over and begin searching him.

After a period, paramedics arrive, put the man on a stretcher and begin doing CPR.

The man who was shot is white and appears to be in his 30s. Kimble said he took him to be around 35 to 40 years old, adding he didn't look well.

Kimble was shocked by the speed at which things unfolded, he said.

"I'm not a cop, but I feel like it could have been handled differently," he said.

Police have been called to that address many times before, he said.

A large perimeter has been erected around the scene. Seven investigators from the BEI are handling the case.