MONTREAL – A 62-year-old suspect is in police custody and a bystander is dead after shots were fired late Tuesday night during the victory speech of Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois.
Quebec provincial police have confirmed that a 48-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, a 27-year-old man was seriously wounded and a third man was treated for shock after being shot just before midnight outside of the Metropolis theatre in downtown Montreal.
The shooting
Just moments after Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois addressed Anglophone Quebecers in English, those watching her victory speech at Club Metropolis were left in a state of confusion as security guards whisked the premier-elect from the stage as she was speaking.
“It was like a bad movie,” noted one witness. “She was talking about sharing a common future and then she disappeared.”
Moments later, staff returned to the stage to tell the audience that they had heard a firecracker and perhaps a blank had been fired, which was why the security detail thought it would be prudent to protect Marois.
Quebec’s premier-designate then reappeared on-stage to reassure PQ supporters and asked everyone to calmly exit the theatre.
Those watching the event on television could see what was happening outside, where a fire was raging and police had detained a suspect on the ground, while other officers were rifling through what appeared to be a small weapons arsenal.
The live images continued to feed through from both the interior and exterior of the Metropolis, revealing confusion within the building and the dramatic arrest of a suspect outside.
The suspect, a heavy-set man wearing a black ski or balaclava mask, glasses and a blue bathrobe over a black shirt and black shorts, was arrested by police shortly after he fired several shots and threw an incendiary device towards the back of the theatre.
As he was being arrested and taken to the police cruiser, the suspect was heard to shout in French, "Les Anglais se réveillent" – loosely translated as the English are awakening – and “There’s going to be payback.”
Police confirm events
Early Wednesday morning, Lieut. Guy Lapointe of the Quebec Provincial Police and Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere confirmed that investigators have so far been unable to establish a motive or whether Marois was a possible target.
However, as the possibility of an assassination attempt exists, the provincial force has taken "charge of the investigation."
He said two weapons were seized at the scene and although police would not reveal the suspect's name, they verified that he is 62 years old.
The area around Club Metropolis just east of the Place des Arts was closed off Tuesday night and a large security perimeter has been erected around the crime scene.
On Wednesday morning, a police SWAT team was brought in to investigate a nearby parked vehicle that police suspected belonged to the suspect.
The black GMC Yukon was examined by police investigators and inside, police discovered a white liquid. A red canister similar to the sort used to hold gasoline was removed from the scene, as well as two weapons - a machine gun and a pistol.
Police would not confirm how long the investigation would take, although Lapointe noted, “We have to reconstruct exactly what happened. It all happened very quickly, in a few seconds.”
Police emphatically stated that they have no reason to believe that there is more than one suspect.
Lafreniere said police continued to search the area for any further incendiary devices.
He also confirmed that four or five families nearby had been evacuated for safety reasons.
The victims
The fatal attack claimed the life of Denis Blanchette, a technician who was shot while apparently taking a smoke break outside the artists’ entrance at the theatre.
The second victim has not yet been identified, but he was transported to hospital and remains in stable condition.
Police confirmed that both victims were shot outside the Metropolis theatre just before midnight Tuesday.
Global News has learned that both worked with a Montreal-based production company called Productions du Grand Bambou Inc.
Police recounted that one of the victims, with the help of police, was dragged inside the building and the door was closed, which is what may have prompted the suspect to try to burn the door down.
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) verified Wednesday that two individuals were brought to the Level 1 Trauma Centre at the Montreal General Hospital Tuesday night following a shooting incident at Club Metropolis.
One was treated for shock and discharged and the other is in stable condition following surgery.
The MUHC also said that an individual under police custody was brought to the Royal Victoria Hospital for medical examination on Wednesday morning.
The suspect
The 62-year-old suspect arrested by police Tuesday night in connection with the shootings in Montreal, has been identified as Richard Henry Bain.
He is due to appear in court Thursday, although prosecutors have not yet confirmed the charges.
Bain is the owner of a hunting lodge about two hours north of Montreal in La Conception called RICK Activities.
- With files from The Gazette and The Canadian Press
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