Residents of QuebecB次元官网网址檚 picturesque capital grappled with grief and shock on Sunday as they mourned the deaths of a beloved neighbourhood hairdresser and a well-respected museum employee slain in what police describe as a deliberate sword attack targeting random strangers.

Impromptu vigils and makeshift memorials sprang up near the stretch of Old Quebec City where police allege a young man went on a 2.5-hour rampage wielding a long, curved sword. Hairdresser Suzanne Clermont, 61, and 56-year-old museum employee Francois Duchesne died in the Halloween-night attack that also left five others injured.

Residents huddled outside ClermontB次元官网网址檚 home on Des Remparts Street, where they placed a box filled with flowers and a stuffed cat at her front door.

One neighbour said Clermont was out smoking a cigarette when the stabbing took place.

B次元官网网址淪he was my friend. She and her partner Jacques were a lovely couple,B次元官网网址� said Lucie Painchaud, a resident of the area for 16 years. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 unbelievable, I canB次元官网网址檛 still compute.B次元官网网址�

The horror of Saturday nightB次元官网网址檚 events was also setting in at the nearby Musee National des Beaux-Arts du Quebec, where Duchesne was described as a much-loved employee.

B次元官网网址淲e are all in shock,B次元官网网址� spokeswoman Linda Tremblay said in a statement, describing the attack as an B次元官网网址渋nexplicable and unfair tragedy.B次元官网网址�

Police offered only a handful of details about the late-night attack that played out in the cobblestone streets of Old Quebec, a popular tourist destination packed with historic buildings and landmarks.

Quebec City police chief Robert Pigeon said the suspect had been dressed in B次元官网网址渕edievalB次元官网网址� garb and swung a katana-like sword at randomly chosen victims in an attack that stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning.

B次元官网网址淟ast night we were thrust into a night of horror when a 24-year-old man who does not live in Quebec City came here with the clear intention of taking as many victims as possible,B次元官网网址� Pigeon said during a Sunday morning news conference.

Police were first summoned to the scene at around 10:30 on Saturday night and proceeded to pursue a suspect through the narrow streets of Old Quebec until his arrest shortly before 1 a.m.

Carl Girouard has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder in relation to the attack, according to the Quebec Crown prosecutorB次元官网网址檚 office.

Girouard appeared in front of a judge via video conference on Sunday afternoon and is slated to be back in court on Thursday.

The identities of the five people injured in the attack are protected by a publication ban.

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Pigeon said the suspect, who hails from the north shore of Montreal, has no known links to terrorist groups. Police believe his motivations appear to be personal in nature, he added without providing further details.

He also said the alleged attacker has no known criminal record, but shared plans to commit this type of act in an unspecified B次元官网网址渕edical contextB次元官网网址� about five years ago.

The bustling sector of Old Quebec where the rampage unfolded was quiet Sunday, with large portions blocked off as part of the massive police probe. The police chief noted the investigation involved around 25 different crime scenes.

Some residents out for their morning stroll said they heard the sirens and could see flashing police lights on Saturday night.

Stanislas Thomassin, who lives just 300 metres from where one of the attacks took place, said a friend noted alerts on social media on Saturday night but they didnB次元官网网址檛 make much of it.

B次元官网网址淭his morning, I got a note from a friend in France in a panic about me, thatB次元官网网址檚 when I realized the horror of what had happened,B次元官网网址� Thomassin said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 normally very calm, very peaceful in Old Quebec.B次元官网网址�

Condolences poured in from across Canada for the victims and their families, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying in a tweet that his B次元官网网址渉eart breaksB次元官网网址� for them.

Federal Conservative party leader Erin OB次元官网网址橳oole and Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, also offered their condolences, while Quebec Premier Francois Legault said the entire province had woken up after a B次元官网网址渘ight of horror.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 have the words to describe such a tragedy,B次元官网网址� Legault said in an early-morning tweet. The flag outside the provincial legislature was also lowered to half-mast.

Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume said the attack has shaken the city, which is still recovering from a deadly shooting at a local mosque in 2017. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e going through a tough situation,B次元官网网址� Labeaume said during the morning police briefing.

Back in Old Quebec, the local city councillor, Jean Rousseau, said ClermontB次元官网网址檚 death had left residents shell shocked. Community members had gotten closer during the COVID-19 pandemic, with people seeing each other on their nightly walks.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a tightly-knit community, everybody knows everybody here,B次元官网网址� Rousseau said. B次元官网网址淐lermont was well appreciated and everybody liked her.B次元官网网址�

Carol Proulx, co-owner of a clothing store next door to the salon where Clermont worked, described the hairdresser as a B次元官网网址渇riendly woman.B次元官网网址� Proulx also knew Duchesne for many years and said he was shocked by the attack.

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 someone who had a great career and was well loved by those who knew him,B次元官网网址� Proulx said.

B次元官网网址淚t touches us all,B次元官网网址� he said of the tragedy. B次元官网网址淨uebec is a nice big city, but we see that at the same time, itB次元官网网址檚 a small village.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址揥ith files from Jillian Kestler-DB次元官网网址橝mours in Montreal and Tara Deschamps in Toronto.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press

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