A midday shooting in Montreal killed three people on Monday, including a police officer, a civilian and the alleged gunman, triggering rare alarm in the Canadian city.

The bloodshed took place in a partly Jewish neighbourhood that includes kosher markets and restaurants but police declined to comment on what the motive might have been and whether the incident amounted to a hate crime or act of terror.

Montreal police chief Fady Dagher said the incident was “more than terrible”.

“It’s a tragedy, a nightmare,” Dagher said.

Explosions of gun violence in broad daylight are not nearly as common in Canada as they are across the border in the United States but they are not unheard of. A shooting like this in Montreal is rare.

Dagher said police received a call about an active shooting in Montreal’s Cote-des-Neiges neighbourhood at around 11.30am local time.