On 31 October 2020, two people were stabbed to death and five others injured near the Parliament Building in the Old Quebec neighbourhood of Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.[1][2][3] The perpetrator, 24-year-old Carl Girouard, was arrested immediately following the attack.[2][3]
| 2020 Quebec City Halloween stabbing | |
|---|---|
| Location | Quebec City, Quebec, Canada |
| Date | 31 October 2020 c. 10:30 p.m. (UTC-4:00) |
| Target | Passers-by |
Attack type | Mass stabbing |
| Weapons | Japanese sword[1] |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 5 |
| Perpetrator | Carl Girouard |
Incident
editOn the night of Halloween 2020, at about 10:30 p.m. local time, a man dressed in a medieval costume carried out a mass stabbing in Quebec City, attacking people with a katana-style saber near the provincial legislature, the National Assembly of Quebec. The victims were chosen at random. Two people were killed, Suzanne Clermont, a 61-year-old woman and François Duchesne, a 56-year-old man,[4] and five others were injured.
Suspect
editCarl Girouard, a 24-year-old man from Sainte-Thérèse on Montreal's North Shore, was arrested.[5][6] The police reported that the attacker was prepared to inflict as much damage as possible, and had gasoline containers in his car. The man was not affiliated with any terror group, according to police, but his motivations are unknown.[7][8] Police said that the man had, five years prior, expressed to a doctor threats to perform similar actions.[6][9]
On 18 June 2021, Prosecutor François Godin filed a direct indictment, with Girouard set to go directly to trial without a preliminary hearing.[10]
On 20 May 2022, after five days of deliberation, Carl Girouard was convicted of the first degree murders of François Duchesne and Suzanne Clermont. He faced life in prison with no possibility of parole within the next 25 years.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b "Quebec stabbing: Two dead after attack by man in medieval clothes". BBC News. 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ a b Maratta, Alessia Simona (November 1, 2020). "Suspect in custody after 2 killed, 5 injured in Quebec City stabbings: police". Global News. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ a b "Police Arrest Suspect after Stabbings in Quebec City Kill 2". VOA. 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
- ^ Duval, Alexandre (1 November 2020). "L'identité des victimes de l'attaque dans le Vieux-Québec dévoilée". Radio Canada (in French). Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ "Attaque à Québec : la police sur les traces du suspect à Sainte-Thérèse". Radio-Canada.ca. November 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
- ^ a b Desmeules, Judith (1 November 2020). "Tuerie dans le Vieux-Québec: les victimes choisies au hasard". Le Soleil (in French). Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ Dougherty, Kevin (1 November 2020). "Attacker with sword kills two, injures five in Quebec stabbings". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ "Quebec stabbing: Two dead after attack by man in medieval clothes". BBC News. 1 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ Tu Thanh, Ha (1 November 2020). "Two dead, five injured in Quebec City stabbing; police arrest lone suspect". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
- ^ "Quebec City sword attack suspect will go directly to trial". Montreal.CTVNews.ca. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
- ^ Warren, Émilie (May 20, 2022). "Quebec City sword attacker guilty of 1st-degree murder". CBC. Retrieved May 20, 2022.