Quebec Premier Victory Speech: Shots Fired, 1 Dead, Gunman Detained

RT
Wed, 05 Sep 2012 00:00 UTC

Canada - Quebec's newly-elected Premier Pauline Marois has been rushed off stage during her acceptance speech, after shots were heard inside Montreal's Metropolis concert hall. One man is reported dead.

Another person is in a critical condition and one more witness is being treated for shock, Montreal police have informed Canadian media.

Ian Lafrenière stated that the dead man was in his 40s and that two guns were recovered at the scene, but there was no reason to believe there was more than one shooter.

After firing shots the gunman started a fire behind the downtown Montreal venue where Marois' supporters had gathered, Reuters reports.

Video has emerged, reportedly showing a man in a blue bathrobe and black balaclava with a gun on the ground surrounded by police. Video footage showed a high-powered rifle, which Twitter users identified as an AK-47 or Valmont Hunter weapon.

The gunman is said to be 50 years old and was apparently shouting "the English are waking up" in French with a Canadian-English accent as he was subdued.

Marois heads the separatist Parti Quebecois, which seeks independence for the French-speaking province of Quebec.

The premier-elect returned to the stage a few minutes after she left it, urging her supporters who packed the hall to leave calmly, stating that "there was a little unfortunate incident," so as not to create panic. Everyone was evacuated and police are investigating.

"We don't know what was [behind] that event," police spokesperson Dany Richer told CBC. "Our investigators are going to meet with [the detained] overnight."

Quebec's election

This event comes as the separatist Parti Quebecois (PQ) won Quebec's provincial elections and will form a new government there, once again raising the possibility of a referendum on independence being held in Canada's French-speaking province.

According to the latest results, PQ has won or was leading in 57 ridings in Tuesday's election, just shy of the 63 needed for a majority in the 125-seat legislature.

The party's leader Pauline Marois, 63, will replace the head of the Liberal party, Jean Charest, and will become the province's first female premier.

Just before the shooting incident took place Marois took the stage for her acceptance speech telling her supporters that she hopes to put aside all the difference for a united Quebec.

"Voters have made a choice and we will respect it, and we will govern with all other parties at the national assembly," she said.

PQ's win is a significant loss for the Liberals, who governed the province for almost a decade.

Jean Charest miscalculated the mood of the electorate, believing voters would support the Liberals for a fourth term. He ended up losing his own riding of Sherbrooke to a PQ candidate.

"This is not the result I would have wanted. This is not a battle that I backed away from. I now have the firm conviction that our party will continue to serve Quebec, and will do it together," Charest told his supporters.