Canada sword attacker kills two in Halloween rampage

The sword-wielding attacker dressed in medieval costume who killed two people and injured five others in a Halloween rampage on Saturday night in Quebec was “not associated with a terrorist group,” Canadian police said Sunday.

The attacks occurred in multiple locations in the Old Quebec neighborhood, near the tourist hotspot Chateau Frontenac and the National Assembly, the Quebec provincial parliament.

The suspect, who was arrested early Sunday after a manhunt through the streets, is due to make a preliminary court appearance by video-link later in the day.

“Yesterday evening we were plunged into a night of horror when a 24-year-old man, who does not live in Quebec, came with the intention of claiming as many victims as possible,” Quebec City police chief Robert Pigeon told reporters.

“Everything leads us to believe” that the suspect, who was armed with a Japanese-style sword, “chose his victims at random,” Pigeon added.

The police chief said that two of the victims are French people living in Quebec for some years, without specifying whether they were among the dead or injured.

Some of the injured suffered “significant lacerations,” he said.

The suspect, from Montreal, had planned his attack but had no criminal record. (AFP | Anne-Sophie THILL)