The Quebec branch of the online hacker collective Anonymous is taking credit for infiltrating the websites of the Montreal police and the union representing its officers.

Around 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday, the Montreal police website went offline, followed minutes later by that of the Montreal police brotherhood. As of 10 a.m. on Saturday, the former was still not working.

Anonymous said via Twitter the police were targeted because of the accusations of brutality during the recent student demonstrations, which have seen thousands take to the streets nightly in protest of recent austerity measures.

The group also indicated it will "ruin the life" of a police officer shown pepper spraying protesters in Montreal.

This cyberattack comes on the heels of similar attacks on the websites of Toronto police and the City of Ottawa.

Situation 'sad,' says police

Montreal police tell CBC News it's working on getting its website back online.

Spokesman Manuel Couture described the situation as "sad" and said information on missing people, police contacts, and news releases are not accessible to the public when the website is down.

"There's a lot of information for the citizens, so it's pretty sad that right now, they don't have access to the site," he said.

However, Anonymous said it will continue to target Montreal police, even after the website is back online.

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