A man in Canada’s Quebec was shot by provincial police after he allegedly made threats towards Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The man is also suspected of issuing threats against Quebec’s premier Francois Legault. 

Quebec police watchdog, the Bureau des enquetes independantes (BEI), said the shooting took place early Wednesday (Sep 27) in Scotstown, about 180 km east of Montreal.

The man is reportedly wounded and in a stable condition.

As per BEI, a police officer fired at the man from the window of his house when he allegedly saw him pointing a gun toward the door where officers were entering.

The man had earlier issued threats against both Legault and Trudeau, but no more details were released about the suspect.

Legault’s office said in a statement that it is aware of the situation and that all threats against elected officials are unacceptable and should be denounced.

A recent study has revealed a significant increase in lethal force incidents involving Canadian police officers, reaching its highest point in 2022. 

This groundbreaking research, unveiled in February, was based on a unique database that is made by collecting data on police use of deadly force in Canada since the year 2000. 

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This initiative aims to bridge the existing national data gap concerning officer-involved fatalities, as government agencies have yet to compile such statistics, despite growing demands for data to monitor racial disparities.

The database, known as “Tracking Injustice,” is the result of collaborative efforts between academics and advocacy organisations, relying on information gathered from both government reports and media sources. 

Preliminary findings from this study indicate the persistence of racial disparities, with Black and Indigenous individuals being shot by police at rates three times higher than their combined population. 

Additionally, there has been a recent sharp increase in the number of deaths, as highlighted by Alexander McClelland, a criminologist from Carleton University leading the project.

According to the preliminary data, 704 people have been killed by police in Canada since 2000, with 224 occurring in Ontario and 65 involving Toronto police.