A serious incident involving a suspect who may be armed, who presented himself at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal last Tuesday and sparked internal panic, continues to cause excitement to this day.
This is because the institution did not take the initiative to widely and quickly disseminate information about a serious incident.
The Montreal Gazette briefly mentioned the incident five days ago, but apart from this discreet media coverage, no notice was issued to the hospital to inform the population and patients on the same day, August 9th.
The hospital simply distributed an internal memo written by Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, CEO of the CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, and obtained a copy from the TVA Nouvelles, stating “that a silver code was issued at the Jewish General Hospital due to the possible Presence of an active shooter at the facility triggered. The hospital’s security team activated the shelter-in-place protocol to ensure the safety of staff and patients. The SPVM responded to the call immediately. During the investigation, the SPVM confirmed that the suspect was known to the police and hospital but fortunately there was no active threat, the all clear was given and normal operations resumed.
On the other hand, about thirty minutes after the incident, the suspect allegedly opened fire from the hospital at an apartment in the Victoria and Carlton Avenue area, not far from the health facility.
Liberal health critic and MP Monsef Derraji wonders why the media wasn’t alerted when the first week of August had been particularly bloody in Montreal.
“I urge the health secretary to highlight what happened,” he said.
For its part, the organization B’Nai Brith, through its spokesman Marvin Rotrand, has gone so far as to question whether the suspect’s intention was not to target the Jewish community.
“What kind of weapon and how did the shooter get this weapon? What was the real danger to the public?” he wonders.
The Jewish General Hospital insists that all security and communication protocols have been followed but declines to comment further on the matter.
The suspect is still at large, the investigation is ongoing and the SPVM takes the file very seriously, we are assured.
Police also provided information on the type of suspect’s weapon.
“On August 9, police officers from Neighborhood Watch 26 at the Jewish General Hospital intervened in response to an emergency call about the possible presence of a person with a firearm on the premises. It quickly became apparent that the suspect was not in possession of a firearm but an airgun and had left the crime scene before the police officers arrived. The suspect has been identified and is being sought.