Canada ... a "night of terror" in Quebec, with a man killing two people with a sword on Halloween night

A 24-year-old man killed two people and wounded five others with a sword on Halloween night in the historic center of Quebec City in eastern Canada, before police quickly stopped him and later confirmed that he had no connection with a "terrorist group."

The suspect, who has no judicial precedents, had planned his attack in advance and wanted to "cause as many casualties as possible," a police spokesman announced.

The man is called Karl Girouard and he is known for his mental problems, according to several information, which has not been officially confirmed.

And his home was raided Sunday afternoon in Saint-Therese, near Montreal, according to these sources.

Police said two French citizens, who have been living in Quebec for several years, were among the wounded.

"Yesterday evening we drowned in a night of terror when a twenty-four-year-old man did not reside in Quebec and intends to cause the greatest number of casualties," Quebec Police Chief Robert Pigeon said during a press conference Sunday.

The police said in a call with Agence France-Presse that the two dead were Quebec residents: a man at fifty-six years old named Francois Duchenne and a woman in the sixty-first year named Susan Clermont.

She added that the wounded were four men, between the ages of 19 and 67, and a 24-year-old woman.

The attack took place on Saturday at the end of the "Halloween" (All Saints) holiday in Old Quebec, specifically in the famous Chateau Frontonac, a tourist place in the capital of the Francophone Canadian province and in a sector that includes the city’s parliament, according to the police.

Pigeon added that the supposed attacker was disguised in medieval attire and carrying a Japanese "katana" sword. "Everything leads to the belief that he chose his victims randomly."

The suspect will appear via video link before the court on Sunday afternoon.

"I think he planned what he did," the police chief said.

He added that the man had "expressed a desire to do something" five years ago, but he had no judicial precedents.

For her part, Deputy Prime Minister of Quebec, Geneva, Guibo said, "All Quebec is in mourning this morning," condemning "barbaric" acts.

- "Mental problems" - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sorrow at the occurrence of "a terrible tragedy", saying on Sunday, "My heart broke out for the relatives of the two people who were killed in this terrible attack."

The local newspaper "Le Soleil" (the sun) quoted three eyewitnesses as saying that the attacker "slaughtered" his first victim near Château Frontonac and there was "a lot of blood".

The man continued his way on Rampar Street, where he killed the second person, before heading to the port of Quebec, causing other injuries, according to the newspaper.

For his part, Quebec Mayor Regis Laboum denounced a "horrific and difficult to understand" tragedy, speaking of "mental health" problems suffered by the suspect.

"This morning I had the impression that I was witnessing again an event that took place on January 29, 2017, at the Mosque of Quebec," he said.

On that day, a man close to the extreme right, Alexander Bessonet, opened fire on worshipers in the Quebec mosque, killing six people and wounding others.

He is serving a life sentence since then.

"I feel the need to be reminded that this tragedy does not cast doubt on the fact that this city is among the safest cities in the world, but it is difficult, or almost impossible, to anticipate the results of actions resulting from mental problems, as it seems."

Due to the restrictions associated with the Covid-19 epidemic, the streets of Old City in Quebec were not crowded with people at the moment of the tragedy, journalist Jordan Prost told AFP.

And on Sunday morning, most of the streets in the capital of Quebec, especially the historic center frequented by many tourists, were almost deserted, according to an AFP correspondent on the spot.

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