The killings that claimed the lives of at least 18 people in Lewiston, Maine, this week highlighted many social problems to which it is difficult to remain insensitive, Prime Minister François Legault admitted on Friday.
“It’s worrying,” admitted the Prime Minister when journalists asked him how he reacted when he learned the news, on the sidelines of an event on another subject at L’Épiphanie, in Lanaudière.
“There are too many of these kinds of issues and there’s a lot of stuff in there. There is accessibility to weapons, there is the whole question of violence, mental health… It’s too early, for me anyway, to say what exactly happened in Maine, but it’s is worrying,” added Mr. Legault.
Friday, almost 48 hours after the fatal shooting, the suspect in the killings which took place Wednesday evening in a bowling alley and in a bar remained untraceable. Authorities were still trying to locate Robert Card, a U.S. Army reservist, who allegedly shot and killed the 18 victims, in addition to wounding 13 others.
On Thursday, the day after the shooting, Mr. Legault wrote to Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, to share his sadness with the population of this state located just southeast of Quebec.
“It’s so sad what happened there,” he added Friday morning. Then it’s also worrying because we haven’t found the person responsible. »
On this subject, at the federal level, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Thursday that security has been reinforced at the border with Maine while the manhunt continues in the United States.
“I can assure you that our Minister of Public Services is in contact with our counterparts in the United States to ensure that everyone is safe and sound,” Mr. Trudeau said during a press briefing in Ottawa.
A minute of silence in Nova Scotia
Other Canadian provinces also reacted to the killing.
In Nova Scotia, the Legislative Assembly observed a minute of silence on Friday in memory of the victims of the Lewiston shooting.
Premier Tim Houston also read a resolution expressing solidarity with the people of Maine following this “senseless and tragic mass shooting” that he said left people in two countries grieving.
Mr. Houston thus referred to the April 2020 killings in his province, which left 22 dead. He says Nova Scotia knows all too well what it’s like to experience an unimaginable tragedy.
Mr. Houston also greeted the United States Consul General in Halifax, Lyra Carr, who was in the public gallery as a guest of the legislature.
“While the shock and grief of this event can reopen deep and painful wounds for those who have experienced similar events, and unfortunately our province is not immune to these feelings, it is therefore resolved that all “The members of this legislature stand with the people of Maine as they navigate these very dark days,” Houston said in his resolution.