The driver who killed two people and injured six as he rammed a bus into a Laval daycare center on Wednesday morning has been charged with two first-degree murders, attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault. In the evening, stuffed animals and bouquets of flowers accumulated on the scene of the tragedy, in memory of the victims.
What there is to know
- Around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a Société de transport de Laval bus drove into a daycare center in the Sainte-Rose district;
- The driver Pierre Ny St-Amand was arrested shortly after the event and was charged at the end of the afternoon with first degree murder, attempted murder by driving into a building with a bus, serious offense and assault.
- Two young children died. Six others were taken to hospital, but there is no fear for their lives.
- The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, the Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy, and the Member of Parliament for the riding of Sainte-Rose, Christopher Skeete, left Quebec to go to the scene.
The tragedy occurred around 8:30 a.m., in the Sainte-Rose district, when several children were arriving at daycare to start the day. The driver of the Société de transport de Laval (STL) bus was arrested shortly after the event and was met by investigators during the afternoon.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
This is Pierre Ny St-Amand, a 51-year-old man with no criminal history. At the end of the afternoon, the man was formally charged with a total of nine counts.
He appeared by videoconference at the Laval courthouse while he was hospitalized at the Sacré-Coeur-de-Montréal hospital. According to the police officer who was in the hospital room with him, Mr. Ny St-Amand hit the officer during the appearance because he was “angry”. A request for a psychiatric evaluation was made by the doctor at the hospital to assess his degree of dangerousness.
Mr. St-Amand is scheduled to appear again on February 17. He will be transferred to a prison for further legal proceedings.
PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK
Pierre Ny St-Amand
The motivations that led to the massacre are not yet known at the end of the evening. Mr. Ny St-Amand has no criminal history. According to our information, several hours after the tragedy, the police had still not found a link between the suspect and the daycare and still did not understand what had prompted him to take action.
Note: the daycare center in question is located at the end of a long residential and commercial street, which culminates in a roundabout and a railway line. To rush into the daycare, the bus driver had to drive to the roundabout, then turn right towards the parking lot, at the end of which is the establishment.
There was at least one camera in the bus which would have filmed the scene. The police have, according to our sources, obtained a warrant to obtain and view this video.
Dead and injured
Earlier today, Laval police confirmed that two young children died from the collision, while six others were taken to hospital. However, we would not fear for their lives. A total of eight people were transported by ambulance.
Several emergency services were on site Wednesday morning in front of the Ste-Rose educational daycare, which is located on Dufferin Terrace, not far from Sénécal Street. An emergency unit has also been set up, with a series of workers who can help young people and parents affected by the tragedy.
It is not yet known whether the driver was officially on duty at the time of the tragedy.
As the evening progressed, bouquets of flowers and soft toys accumulated at the scene of the tragedy, carried by upset families and passers-by. “It’s indescribable how we feel,” testified Mélanie Guérard. Her daughter Kelly-Ann, 2 years and 10 months old, attends this daycare. She was in another group at the time of the tragedy and avoided the worst. “Since this morning, we haven’t stopped crying, continues the mother, still in shock. We can’t eat. »
“In 25 years, I have never seen this”
Four preschool children, two boys and two girls are hospitalized at the CHU Sainte-Justine. One of them is in intensive care, while the other three are being assessed.
The little patients arrived conscious at the hospital, but some of them suffered trauma. “Their health is obviously affected, but their life is not at stake as we speak,” said in a press scrum, the Dr Marc Girard, director of professional services at the CHU Sainte-Justine. Their psychological state will be assessed in the coming hours.
“We are in the first 24 hours. Of course, the evolution is difficult to predict in children, but we intend to offer the best care to these children and allow them to recover as quickly as possible so that they can resume their normal life, “he said. added.
A complete mobilization of the staff took place in the morning in the hospital center to be able to receive the injured young people. The emergency room, the operating room, as well as the hospitalization and imaging units were ready to receive the victims. “Our priority was to save these patients,” says Dr.r Girard.
Patients who needed immediate care were taken to a hospital center near the scene of the tragedy.
Around 10:00 a.m., three ambulances and a Laval police service vehicle were at the entrance to the CHU Sainte-Justine emergency room. The hospital, which is the designated center for pediatric traumatology, received young victims “with serious injuries and requiring urgent care,” said CHU Sainte-Justine media relations advisor Justine Mondoux-Turcotte.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Around 10:00 a.m., three ambulances and a Laval police service vehicle were at the entrance to the CHU Sainte-Justine emergency room.
Employees of the CHU Sainte-Justine, met on leaving the hospital during their break, were upset by the news. “We have just learned that, it is appalling. They are children, ”drops one of them. “In 25 years, I have never seen this. They called all the volunteers of the establishment to go to the emergency room, ”adds his colleague at his side.
With Daniel Renaud