Michael, or Michel, Mizrahi, the Israeli man killed by police gunfire in Montreal after being mistaken for a suspect during a shooting incident, will be buried Thursday night in Israel. His funeral is set for 10:30 p.m. at the cemetery in Migdal HaEmek, and his family will then sit shiva at their home on HaDuvdevan Street 8 in the city.
Mizrahi, who lived in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Montreal, was shot dead during a gunfire incident in a supermarket near his home on Monday. According to the report, police were operating at the scene against suspects, and in the exchange of fire a female officer mistakenly identified Mizrahi as involved in the attack, leading to the fatal shooting.
ZAKA volunteer Moishi Blech, from the organization’s international unit and a Montreal resident who was present at the scene, described the ordeal as long hours of uncertainty. He said he moved around the site with the deceased man’s son and various officials trying to understand what was happening and help in any way possible.
After official confirmation of Mizrahi’s death, ZAKA’s international unit began working with local authorities to release the body and arrange burial in Israel. In the Montreal Jewish community, the shock was immediate. Rabbi Chaim Shlomo Cohen, Chabad emissary and director of the local Chabad house, said Mizrahi was a familiar figure who regularly attended the center, calling him, "a dear Jew, a great loss for all of us."
