A man who allegedly made threats against Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and François Legault was shot and injured during an intervention by the Sûreté du Québec in Estrie on Wednesday morning. The Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI) has opened a file.
According to several media outlets, including Radio-Canada and TVA, the suspect made threats against the prime ministers of Canada and Quebec on the social network TikTok.
The SQ Tactical Intervention Group (GTI) reportedly intervened around 5 a.m. Wednesday morning at this man’s home in Scotstown, a town in the Eastern Townships located about forty kilometers from Lac-Mégantic.
According to the BEI press release, during the intervention, a GTI police officer saw the suspect with a firearm through the window of the residence. “The person would have pointed the firearm in the direction of the door when the members of the GTI entered the residence,” writes the BEI. The police officer allegedly fired in the direction of the person who was then injured by the police fire. »
First aid was given to the person shot. She was transported to hospital in a condition considered stable, specifies the BEI.
The office of Prime Minister François Legault reacted in writing: “We have been informed of the situation. Threats against elected officials, regardless of level and party, are unacceptable and must be denounced. Now, we will not make any comments so as not to harm the work of the police. »
Remember that the BEI intervenes when a person – other than a police officer on duty – dies, suffers a serious injury or is injured by a weapon used by a police officer during a police intervention.
Threats against elected officials on the rise
At the end of the last electoral campaign in Quebec, the Sûreté du Québec reported 217 reports received following threats against elected officials and Quebec candidates. In total, around thirty people were arrested.
The situation also led to the introduction of new protection measures for elected officials during the campaign, including the wearing of bulletproof vests.
On the federal side, between January and October 2020, 276 threatening incidents targeted ministers, reported The Press in March 2021. The number of death threats targeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also more than doubled between 2021 and 2022.
“Today we must face the facts: the threat is everywhere. In fact, she is against anyone who wants to run in politics or who is in politics at the moment,” summarized in our pages in August 2022 the former agent of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Michel Juneau-Katsuya.
Open investigation
Six BEI investigators were tasked with shedding light on the circumstances surrounding the GTI’s intervention in Estrie. A parallel criminal investigation into the events was also entrusted to the City of Montreal Police Department.
Anyone who witnessed the event can contact the BEI on its website.
With The Canadian Press