GATINEAU, Que. – More details have emerged about the two men who died in Friday’s shooting at a daycare in Gatineau, Que.
Gatineau police say one of the two men is a 38-year-old French citizen, whose parents live in France.
Police haven’t yet provided the man’s name and wouldn’t say whether he was the gunman.
Authorities previously released the name of Robert Charron as one of the deceased but did not reveal whether he was the shooter or the intended target. He was not a resident of Gatineau.
Worried parents picked up their children after police removed 53 kids from two daycare centres following gunshots that left two men dead.
While initial reports suggested only one death, Police Chief Mario Harel says two bodies were found inside, including a male daycare worker.
Dorcena Dorzilme, owner of the daycare’s building, said he believed one of the dead men was Robert Gagnon, whose wife Natalie ran the daycare. But he couldn’t say what happened or who the other man was.
“When I got here I was in shock,” he said.
He added the building’s door has a code, and no one could access it without the code.
The daycare centres were in homes at 225 and 229 Rue Gamelin, and children were put on city buses while waiting for their parents to pick them up. The children had initially been moved to a neighbouring house, where they received food from paramedics, according to police.
Xin Yu’s children had been going to the daycare for about seven months.
“It seemed very safe, this is a very good region, said Yu.”
She was informed of the shooting by a fellow parent.
Huddled with her three-year-old son in her arms, while her five-year-old daughter clutched to her leg wrapped in a bright yellow sheet, Yu told Global News she immediately started to cry.
“I didn’t know what happened, just really scared for my kids,” she said.
Police say all the children, including five infants and 48 children up to age five, are unharmed.
At an earlier press conference, police said one of the deceased adults was a resident of one of the houses on Rue Gamelin.
Global News reporter Mike Le Couteur spoke with parents who were relieved their children were unharmed. One father said it was a good daycare, and had no idea as to the connection between the shooter and the daycare facility.
“It’s terrifying to hear that a gunman goes into a daycare, it’s always terrifying,” said one parent, who didn’t want to be identified. “Every parent’s worst nightmare.”
LeMay said police were conducting a careful examination.
“An explanation would be pure speculation; we’ll carry out our investigation and report on the results,” he said.
The daycares are across the street from a hospital. See the location for yourself on this interactive map from The Canadian Press:
With files from The Canadian Press
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