Montreal man sentenced to five and a half years over 2023 shooting at Yeshiva Gedola school

A 23-year-old Montreal man was sentenced on Monday (9 November) to five and a half years in prison for his involvement in the November 2023 shooting at the Yeshiva Gedola school. Abdirazak Mahdi Ahmed pleaded guilty in September to discharging a firearm while acting recklessly as to the consequences; the 66-month sentence matches the joint recommendation submitted by the Crown and the defence. As he has been in custody since May 2024, the sentence includes credit for time already served — the 66 months is the total term, not an additional five and a half years starting on Monday.

School shot at twice in four days in November 2023

The attack took place shortly before 5 a.m. on 12 November 2023 at the school on Deacon Road in Côte-des-Neiges. It was the second time in four days that Yeshiva Gedola had been targeted: on 9 November 2023, Yeshiva Gedola and the Azrieli Talmud Torah school were both shot at on the same day. Prosecutors said there was no evidence connecting Ahmed to the 9 November shooting; Monday's sentence was handed down exactly three years after those shootings. Investigators connected Ahmed to the 12 November attack through DNA evidence recovered from a stolen Acura RDX, cellphone records and statements he made to an undercover police officer placed in his cell. A second suspect, Feijhoo-Leito Joseph, was arrested in February 2025.

Motive not established; not charged under terrorism provisions

Ahmed was prosecuted for the firearm offence, not under terrorism provisions. Prosecutors acknowledged they could not establish an antisemitic motive beyond a reasonable doubt, and the agreed facts did not establish whether he personally fired the weapon, drove the vehicle or participated in another capacity. Eta Yudin, senior vice-president for Quebec at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), addressed the court at the sentencing hearing on 2 November about the impact on Montreal's Jewish community, calling for a sentence reflecting the seriousness of shooting at a Jewish school.

Source: Montreal Jewish News, 10 November 2026.