Tear gas used as pro-Palestinian protesters, Montreal police clash

Several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in downtown Montreal, clashing with police on Thursday night.

This comes one day after McGill University hired a private security firm to take down the encampment on its lower field.

The protesters gathered at Phillips Square at 8 p.m. and began heading west on Sainte-Catherine Street, confronting Montreal police (SPVM) along the way.

“Some of them wore masks and behaved in a hostile manner,” said Véronique Dubuc, a spokesperson with Montreal police. 

Videos posted to social media show several physical altercations as police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

The window of a bank on the corner of Peel Street and de Maisonneuve Boulevard was reportedly smashed, and police say two assaults were committed against its officers.

“The police intervened and carried out dispersal maneuvers using irritant gas,” Dubuc said, noting the protest ended at 10:30 p.m.

A 22-year-old man was arrested for obstructing police work and assaulting an officer.