2 people confirmed dead, 5 injured following Halloween night incident
A 24-year-old man was arrested early Sunday morning in the historic district of Quebec City after two people were stabbed to death and five were injured by an attacker police say was dressed in a medieval outfit and brandishing a sword.
Police were called to the area shortly before 10:30 p.m. Saturday — on Halloween — and discovered victims in at least four locations, including near the Château Frontenac hotel, on du Trésor Street, and on des Remparts Street, according to Radio-Canada.
After a two-and-a-half-hour manhunt, a man was arrested shortly before 1 a.m., about one kilometre north of the area in the city's Old Port.
Quebec City police Chief Robert Pigeon said during a news conference Sunday morning that the suspect is from the suburbs north of Montreal and came to the capital "with the intention of doing the most damage possible."
Pigeon said that "everything leads us to believe he chose his victims at random," adding that he believes the crime was premeditated.
He said that the suspect, whose name has not been released, is not associated with any terror group, according to the investigation.
The man was carrying a Japanese Katana-style sword, Pigeon said.
The police chief said the suspect does not have a criminal record, but he did reveal five years ago in a "medical context" that he wanted to commit a violent act.
Pigeon said police currently have no reason to believe the attack was motivated by religious or political reasons.
The suspect was initially taken to hospital for evaluation. He is currently being questioned by homicide investigators and has not yet appeared in court.
Police say they do not fear for the lives of any of the five people who sustained injuries in the attack.
"Quebec is waking up after a night of horror. Words fail me to describe such a tragedy. I offer my condolences to the loved ones of the victims," Quebec Premier François Legault wrote Sunday morning on Twitter.
Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume told reporters on Sunday morning that he felt like he was reliving the events of January 2017, referring to a shooting at a mosque that left six people dead.
He called the stabbing incident "terrifying" and "impossible to understand."
Labeaume offered his sympathies to the families of the victims and those who were injured.
Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault said she was "devastated" when she learned about the incident in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"It really plunges us into a scene of horror," she said, noting that Quebec City is a typically safe and calm place.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted his response to the attack, saying his thoughts were with the victims and thanking the first responders.
Witnesses describe heavy police presence
Radio-Canada reported when police arrived shortly after 10:30 p.m., they discovered the first body on du Trésor Street, not far from the Château Frontenac.
The second body was discovered on des Remparts Street. Both showed signs of violence.
"We arrived at the beginning of the intervention," said Martin Rioux, who was walking with his partner toward the Dufferin Terrace late Saturday night when they saw two police cars and a body on the sidewalk.
Rioux recounted doing laps of the area and coming across a canine unit, several police officers with their weapons drawn, and others shining bright lights from their vehicles.
"We were really witnesses to the manhunt," he said.
"There was a lot of adrenaline," Rioux said. "Especially when you see police officers walking and running with their weapons drawn."
Jordan Proulst told Radio-Canada he was walking down Saint-Jean Street when he saw several police cars race past in the direction of the Château Frontenac.
"There is a strong police presence," he recounted from in front of the National Assembly early Sunday morning. "In front of me there are three, four, five, six police cars, which have made a barrier."
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He said people were being prevented from passing, and he could see several more police cars past the barrier.
According to Radio-Canada, a security guard at the Quebec City Port was the one who eventually spotted the suspect and alerted police.
Police arrested the suspect in the area of the Espace 400e business park on Abraham-Martin Street shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday.
Source: CBC
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