Quebec Premier François Legault and wife, Isabelle Brais, bring flowers to the site of a daycare centre in Laval, Que., on Feb. 9, where a bus crashed into the building, killing two children.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Grieving family, friends, community members and politicians attended a vigil in Laval Thursday night, a day after two children were killed and six more injured when a bus rammed into a daycare in the city just north of Montreal.
Hundreds of people, including law-enforcement personnel and first responders, gathered outside nearby Sainte-Rose-de-Lima Catholic Church, under heavy snow turning to hail, for the candlelight vigil in honour of the young victims. Many of those who attended added a stuffed animal or flowers to the spontaneous memorials inside the church and at its doorstep.
Two of the six children who were injured in the crash have been released from hospital, while two more are in “favourable” condition, Montreal health officials said on Thursday. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening. The young victims are aged four and five. Their identities have not been released.
Pierre Ny St-Amand, a 51-year-old driver who has worked with the Laval transit agency for 10 years, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and several more counts of aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm and attempted murder. Police say he does not have a criminal record.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to the church to lay flowers with Laval Mayor Stéphane Boyer. Mr. Trudeau briefly spoke of the “hundreds of thousands of parents who dropped their kids off across the country this morning holding them a little tighter” and the “senselessness of this tragedy.”
“All we can do is be there for each other,” the Prime Minister said.
Michel Bouchard, priest of Sainte-Rose-de-Lima parish for 31 years, will preside over one of the funerals next week; a child from the parish whom he baptized himself. “It’s the first time that such a tragedy happens here,” he said at the vigil. A special mass is scheduled at Sainte-Rose-de-Lima Friday morning.
Stephanie Sheehan described the bus incident as horrific after bringing flowers to the church’s doorstep. She said it is important for the community to show support “through these acts of love.”
On Thursday afternoon, Quebec Premier François Legault and his wife added to the piles of flowers and stuffed animals left in front of the Garderie Éducative Ste-Rose daycare. He acknowledged that staff and children who witnessed the incident would probably live its images for the rest of their lives.
“Accept psychological help,” said Mr. Legault. “It is necessary, it is normal that we need this help.”
At around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday a person drove a city bus into the daycare, pinning several children underneath. Witnesses have described the suspect emerging from the bus, screaming incoherently and removing his clothes before being physically subdued by bystanders.
Geneviève Berthiaume Gagnon and Bruno Belzile, whose children attended the daycare centre and knew the victims, said they were in pain, but were lucky to have a strong support network. Their kids seem fine for now, the parents said; being too young to fully understand, they continue to play and “to live their childhood life as if nothing had happened,” said Ms. Gagnon. “It is us [parents] who are suffering more at the moment.”
The circumstances of the crash is under investigation, said Erika Landry, a spokesperson for the Laval police, in a Wednesday news conference. Lionel Carmant, the minister responsible for social services, told reporters in Quebec City that regional health officials in Laval found no evidence that the accused had received care for mental-health issues or had requested help.
The suspect briefly appeared by video link at the Laval courthouse on Wednesday afternoon. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 17.
In a show of support and unity, opposition politicians in Quebec joined Mr. Legault in Laval. “It is extremely important to be present, to show our solidarity facing this unspeakable tragedy,” said Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party.
“We wonder what our words can mean after such a tragedy, but I thought it was important to answer the Premier’s call to be here this morning,” said Quebec Solidaire leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.
The Parti Québécois’s Paul St-Pierre-Plamondon said that as a father, “I find it very difficult, but we have a role to be as united as possible under these kinds of circumstances.”
Hamdi Benchaabane, a neighbouring resident, said he rushed over when he heard the collision and that he and three parents managed to subdue the suspect before police arrested him.
Mr. Benchaabane said he was able to help pull one child from the daycare, adding that he and the others tried to save a second child before firefighters ordered them to leave because pieces of the roof were at risk of falling.
Mr. Legault said he was proud of the Laval resident but urged him to seek psychological help if he needed it. “Don’t minimize what you did,” the Premier said.
With reports from Stephanie Chambers, Tu Thanh Ha and The Canadian Press.