Canadian driver faces homicide costs in ramming, 2 killed
An Amqui resident turned himself in instantly after the ramming and is going through homicide costs, police mentioned. He was due in court docket later Tuesday, provincial police Sgt. Claude Doiron mentioned.
An preliminary investigation suggests the motive force swerved from one facet of the highway to the opposite to hit victims chosen at random and ranging in age from lower than one 12 months to 77, Doiron mentioned.
Gérald Charest, 65, and Jean Lafrenière, 73, had been killed through the alleged assault.
Three of the injured had been in essential situation, police mentioned. The injured additionally embrace two kids — one who’s lower than one 12 months previous and one other who’s about three — who had been each significantly harm however whose lives usually are not in peril.
A senior authorities official aware of the matter mentioned the incident was not terrorism or associated to nationwide safety. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as they weren’t licensed to talk publicly on the matter.
“It’s unheard of crazy behavior,” Quebec Public Safety Minister François Bonnardel mentioned. “Was it intentional? Was it a mental health issue? The investigation will tell us more.”
The metropolis closed colleges Tuesday.
“We’re all trembling thinking about what happened,” Amqui Mayor Sylvie Blanchette mentioned.
Several ambulances swarmed to the scene after the ramming occurred about 3 p.m.
Truck driver Alain Gilbert mentioned he was driving into Amqui when an ambulance raced previous him earlier than virtually instantly pulling over to take care of an individual mendacity on the sidewalk. As he drove, Gilbert noticed extra ambulances and extra individuals on the bottom — about 4 or presumably 5 individuals unfold over a distance of about 500 meters (yards), he mentioned.
Regional well being authorities within the Lower St-Lawrence area confirmed six of the injured had been transported by aircraft to a Quebec City hospital.
Last month in Laval, Quebec, police mentioned a person driving a metropolis bus intentionally smashed right into a daycare heart, killing two kids.
In 2021, a person used a pickup to kill 4 members of an immigrant household in London, Ontario, in what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned was a hate crime directed at Muslims.
In 2018, a person in a van rampaged by means of pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 individuals. Alek Minassian was discovered responsible of 10 counts of first-degree homicide and 16 counts of tried homicide. Minassian, 28, advised police he belonged to an internet neighborhood of sexually annoyed males, a few of whom have plotted assaults on individuals who have intercourse.