MONTREAL -- A suspect has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a 54-year-old woman inside a Quebec shopping mall east of Montreal on Wednesday. 

Marc-André Houle, 43, of Saint-Hyacinthe, is accused of murdering Manon Savoie in the attack that shut down the Galeries St-Hyacinthe mall for much of the day. Savoie was seriously injured in the brazen attack, just after 10 a.m., and succumbed to her injuries in hospital hours later. 

A memorial of flowers lines the front of the jewelry store where the killing took place as the emotions are still raw for shoppers in the mall the day after the killing. 

Court records show Houle is also charged with the attempted murder of another woman with a knife, as well as assault against a man while holding a weapon. 

Houle allegedly stole a truck on the same day of the attacks and failed to stop for a police officer. None of the allegations against him have been proven in court.

He made a first court appearance in St-Hyacinthe Thursday and has a lengthy criminal record.

Houle was living in a building that was being used by an addiction treatment centre. Martin Rousse, liaison officer for Toxi-Co Gîtes, said the accused had undergone therapy. 

"He [did] a six-month therapy in one of our resources, then he asked to come in our house of reinsertion because he needed a place to stay," Rousse said. 

Friends and family are mourning the tragic death of Savoie, who was a longtime worker at the artificial insemination centre of Quebec (CIAQ). 

One coworker said Savoie worked there for more than 30 years and was "always smiling." 

"This is a shock to all CIAQ colleagues and will be missed," wrote Guy Lacerte on Facebook. "My sympathies to her family."

Following the mall attack, the accused allegedly led police on a chase that involved officers from the Longueuil and Richelieu-Saint-Laurent police forces.

Police eventually stopped the vehicle near Edward Street in Saint-Jacques-le-Mineur, in the Montérégie region, about 50 kilometres south of Montreal and 75 kilometres southwest of the attack site.

Police have not released any details on a possible motive for the killing or if the accused was known to the victim.

Houle is due back in court on Sept. 3. 

With files from CTV Montreal's Matt Grillo