A bus driver rammed his vehicle into a day care centre near Montreal Wednesday, killing two four-year-old children in what police believe was a de-liberate act.
One child died on the scene and another in an ambulance, Canadian authorities said, after several children were trapped under the vehicle when it slammed into the building in the suburb of Laval at around 8.30am (1330 GMT). “We think that this is deliberate, but we don’t know the motive,” local police chief Pierre Brochet told AFP.
The 51-year-old suspect, named as Pierre Ny St-Amand, seemed agitated as he appeared via video link in court later Wednesday. He faces nine counts including premeditated murder and attempted murder.
Six other children transported to hospital are out of danger, said Laval police spokesman Erika Landry.
Hamdi Ben Chaabane, who lives nearby, said he arrived at the scene to find the driver acting erratic-ally.
“He opened the door. He took off all his clothes. He was totally naked,” Chaabane said, according to broadcaster CBC. “We don’t know why he did that. We dove on him. We tried to subdue him,” he said, describing the man as “in another world.”
St-Amand refused to speak but nodded to answer the judge’s questions during his court appearance, smiling broadly and repeatedly trying to sit up from the bed to which he was handcuffed, an AFP jour-nalist in the room observed.—AFP
