Does a photo show the police officer who reportedly shot a rabbi during a Montreal shooting in late June 2026, carrying a rifle and wearing a uniform? No, that's not true: The image displays multiple indicators of AI generation and also appears to be a parody of the Sam Hyde meme that often follows high-profile shootings. Additionally, the shooting victim was not a rabbi but a member of a local Jewish congregation.
The claim appeared in a post and image (archived here) by the @DrRemilio account on X on June 23, 2026. It read:
The Female cop who panicked and headshotted the civilian Rabbi outside of the Pornhub Headquarters has been identified
This is what the image included in the post looked like:
(Image source: post by @DrRemilio on X.)
AI indicators
A close look at the image reveals signs that it was generated using AI:
- The text on the shoulder patches and name tag is distorted and difficult to read. It does not appear to form real words, a common issue in AI-generated images.
- Parts of the rifle appear unreal. Some sections seem to blend together or lack the detail typically seen in a real firearm.
- The badge on the chest appears warped and lacks the sharp details and engravings normally found on a real badge.
- The lighting along the left side of her head does not match the softer, more even lighting seen in the rest of the image.
- The skin appears unusually smooth and lacks the small details normally seen in real skin, such as pores and slight texture variations, giving the face a somewhat artificial or computer-generated appearance.
Sam Hyde
The image also shows the hallmarks of a Sam Hyde-inspired meme. As part of a long-running, bizarre internet joke, the comedian is falsely blamed for nearly every mass shooting or other high-profile violent incident. The joke originated on 4chan (archived here) and has been perpetuated for years by various troll accounts. The joke often pairs Hyde's name with a photo of him posing with a weapon, as seen here:
(Image source: post by @turboapa on X.)
The glasses, blonde hair, weapon, and woodland setting in the fake Montreal officer image make it a clear parody of the Sam Hyde meme.
Lead Stories' previous fact checks mentioning his name can be found here.
Lead Stories reached out to the Montreal police to determine whether the person in the image was an actual officer of the force. There was no immediate response.
Shooting deaths
A police officer, a bystander, and the shooter died in the June 22, 2026, shooting in Montreal (archived here). None of them was a rabbi. However, Michel Mizrahi, the bystander who was shot, was Jewish and a member of Congregation Beth Chabad Côte St. Luc.
In a June 24, 2026, phone call, Lead Stories asked a representative of Beth Chabad whether Mizrahi, a Montreal suit salesman, was also a rabbi, as claimed in the social media post. The representative said, "That's not true."
