1 arrested, 3 injured during altercation between Concordia students over Israel-Hamas war

One person was arrested and at least three people were injured at Concordia University after an altercation related to the Israel-Hamas war lasted nearly three hours and turned violent, police say.

Montreal police (SPVM) said they were called to the university in downtown Montreal at around 1:30 p.m. and helped security guards manage two groups of students at the Henry F. Hall Building.

Police say the conflict “degenerated” between the two student groups. Concordia confirmed the clash involved “Pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, including students but also people from outside our community.”

Several videos posted on social media show students shoving and swearing during violent exchanges. One of the videos shows what appears to be a booth set up in the building to raise awareness about the missing Israeli citizens who were taken hostage on Oct. 7 by Hamas, which Canada has designated as a terrorist organization.

The SPVM said the police intervention ended at around 4:15 p.m.

A 22-year-old student was arrested for assaulting a 54-year-old security guard, the SPVM said. The student was released on a promise to appear in court.

A 19-year-old security guard, as well as a 23-year-old student, were also injured “as a result of assaults” during the altercation.

Police say all three injured people suffered non-life-threatening injuries and did not need to go to hospital.

The police investigation is ongoing.

“We do not tolerate intimidation or violence on our campus and we will be looking further into today’s incident. The safety of our community is our priority,” wrote a spokesperson for Concordia in an emailed statement. 

The incident comes as elected officials are appealing for calm as the deadly war in the Middle East rages on.

Quebec’s higher education minister, Pascale Déry, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that has spoken with the rector of Concordia “to ensure that order is restored on campus.”

“Too many students fear for their safety, and we cannot tolerate these outbursts,” she wrote.

Before the altercation broke out, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also commented on the “unacceptable” rise in hate surfacing in Canada since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7. 

“We’re seeing right now a rise in antisemitism that is terrifying. Molotov cocktails thrown at synagogues, horrific threats of violence, targeting Jewish businesses, targeting Jewish daycares with hate. This needs to stop. This is something that is not acceptable in Canada, period,” Trudeau said on his way in to a Liberal caucus meeting.

“And period, the rise of Islamophobia we’re seeing across this country and around the world, is also unacceptable. The expressions of hate against Muslims, against Palestinians, against anyone waving a Palestinian flag. This is unacceptable. This is not who we are as Canadians.” 

This is a developing story that will be updated.