TROIS-RIVIERES - Family and friends gathered Sunday to say goodbye to a bystander who was fatally shot as Montreal police tried to subdue a homeless man.
Patrick Limoges was heading to work at St. Luc Hospital Tuesday when he was hit as police fired at a man who allegedly threatened them with a knife.
He was remembered Sunday for his kindness and strong work ethic.
Family members were too emotional to speak about his death.
"I"m going to see his mother, and it's going to be awful," said family friend Suzanne Champagne. "It must be so awful. Her children were her life. She didn't have an easy life, and now this."
Mourners who came for the visitation reflected in front of family photos of a smiling Limoges as a child and as a grown man which were displayed on a homemade poster.
Flowers surrounded Limoges' square black and gold urn as tears and hugs were shared among those who visited the funeral home.
A note on one bouquet read: "You who were so talented and so generous, paid with your life for the folly of men."
Limoges, who was 36, was born in Trois-Rivieres and later moved to Montreal.
Both Limoges and Mario Hamel who allegedly attacked police with a knife, died of gunshot wounds.
Some at the funeral said the hospital worker's death was no accident.
"They're heartless men," said cousin Martin Mascotte. "All they want to do is justify their salary."
Another relative, Jacqueline Alrie, was more forgiving.
"If they hadn't taken control, maybe the man with the knife would have killed someone else, but in reality it was an accident," she said.
A small group of mourners gathered in Montreal on Saturday to remember Hamel, a 40-year-old mentally ill, homeless man who lived in a downtown shelter.
The Surete du Quebec is investigating the deaths, something Limoges' family friend Pierre Lamothe said he was uncomfortable with.
"I don't doubt the credibility of police, but maybe the police investigation should be supervised by another group," he said.
