MONTREAL -- Two people, including a toddler, were killed in a residence in the Gaspe community of Listuguj near the Quebec-New Brunswick Border.
According to Quebec City police (SPVQ), which will conduct investigations in conjunction with Quebec's Independent Investigation Bureau (BEI), the victims are a man in his 20s and a child.
The SPVQ's public relations officer, Etienne Doyon, was not yet able to give more details about the victims.
One suspect is in custody. He is expected to be questioned by the police during the afternoon before appearing in court.
The BEI announced that it has taken over the investigation into police officers' action during the fatal intervention.
According to the BEI report, police officers from the Listuguj Police Department received a report of shots fired at around 11:30 a.m at a residence on Riverside Rd. in the community.
When police arrived, more shots were heard.
A 28-year-old male was inside the house and refused to cooperate with local police officers.
The Surete du Quebec (SQ) was then called to assist and took responsibility for the case, before launching a hostage operation.
At 5:20 p.m., the suspect surrendered peacefully to the SQ officers and inside the residence, officers discovered two seriously injured people.
Both victims succumbed to their injuries at a hospital. The SPVQ has taken over this portion of the investigation.
"We are the ones who will be meeting with the suspect, (and) meeting with the witnesses. Our objective is to gather all the necessary evidence that we can present to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions who will then lay formal charges," said Doyon.
Six BEI investigators are assigned to the case.
The mandate of the Independent Investigation Bureau is to investigate all cases where a person, other than an on-duty police officer, dies, suffers a serious injury or is injured by a firearm used by a police officer during a police action or while in police custody.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 15, 2021.
