(Amqui) Two very young children were seriously injured on Monday when a 38-year-old suspect rammed pedestrians walking along the roadside in Amqui, a move he allegedly premeditated, according to the police investigation.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) provided an update on Tuesday morning on the tragedy that killed two people in the small community of Bas-Saint-Laurent.

In a press briefing, Sergeant Claude Doiron indicated that the information from the investigation suggested that the actions of the individual were premeditated and that he would have hit people randomly.

The suspect, who is due to appear around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, surrendered himself to the police on Monday afternoon and quickly confessed to his action, according to Sergeant Doiron.

He did not confirm the identity of the man, who is from the area but was not known to police.

Sergeant Doiron also gave more information on the nine wounded, including a child under one year old, and a child under three years old.

The toddlers are seriously injured, but there is no fear for their lives. The age of the rest of the injured is up to 77, the spokesperson said.

The SQ also identified the two victims on Tuesday morning. They are Gérald Charest, 65 years old and Jean Lafrenière, 73 years old.

The Amqui hospital must give more information later in the morning.

In an interview Tuesday morning, the Bloc member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, Kristina Michaud, was still in shock at the news, since her hometown is a small peaceful community of 6,000 inhabitants.

“These are people I know who were affected, who witnessed, who intervened,” she said in an interview in Amqui, near the scene of the tragedy.

Like other citizens of the City, Ms. Michaud says she was worried about her own mother, who walks on this street to do her walks.

“Here in Amqui, when you hear a police, ambulance, or fire siren, you stick your nose to the window because you think, ‘Who is this? We must know this person- there,” she pointed out.

“Yesterday it was several people we knew, it’s extremely disturbing. The whole community would like it to be a bad dream. »