Preventing attacks where vehicles are used as battering rams is difficult, but certain urban design measures could help avoid them, according to an expert from Carleton University in Ottawa.
Two people died and nine others were injured Monday in Amqui, Bas-Saint-Laurent, after being run over by a pickup truck. Police say the driver rammed into random pedestrians, including children.
Alex Wilner, who teaches international affairs at Carleton University, has expertise in security. He believes that certain street design measures can help prevent vehicle access to sidewalks and other areas where pedestrians move or congregate.
These include the raising of road edges, the erection of ramparts, the increased use of pedestrian bridges and the creation of divisions between cycle paths, jogging paths and road traffic lanes.
Such measures have been implemented in some urban settings, including Toronto and Ottawa, according to Professor Wilner’s observation, but divisions between roads and walkways can be almost non-existent in small communities, like Amqui.
“I think our efforts to combat these incidents have focused on major urban areas, as it makes sense to prevent access to major events like downtown parades or main walkways. But for the most part, these defenses have not been implemented as widely in rural areas or in suburban areas,” according to Alex Wilner.
Ram vehicles, while they can be as deadly as explosives or firearms, are easy to rent and buy, making such attacks extremely unpredictable.
“It’s much easier to get hold of a vehicle than an explosive device, and it can be just as effective in creating damage,” said Wilner, who doesn’t think there’s an easy fix.
Francois Bonnardel, Quebec’s public safety minister, said on Tuesday the government would try to learn from what happened in Amqui to help prevent future tragedies, but added that it was difficult to completely eliminate any possibility of an isolated attack.
“This killing spree is hard to prevent,” he said. “We can put everything in place, and tomorrow morning someone can decide again to get in a car, in a truck and hit people. »
In Amqui’s case, the driver of the pickup truck is charged with dangerous driving causing death and the Crown prosecutor said other charges will no doubt follow when all the evidence is in place.
The Amqui tragedy came shortly after a school bus rammed into a daycare center in Laval last month, killing two young children and injuring six others. A Société de transport de Laval (STL) driver has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven other offenses in the case.
In 2021, five members of a Muslim family who were walking on a hot summer evening were hit by a van in London, Ontario. Four died and one was seriously injured. A man charged in the case faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in what prosecutors believe was an act of terrorism.
In Toronto, ten people were killed after a man deliberately drove a rental van down a busy sidewalk in April 2018. Three years later, another person died from injuries sustained in the attack.
The van driver was found guilty of 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder
Alex Wilner also invites pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings.
“I personally remember walking in Toronto after the van attack and I would walk differently. I was looking to locate areas where I could quickly escape, if necessary.
“Being aware of surroundings when walking can help save lives. This is not the case when we have our eyes glued to a screen. »