Teary-eyed community members gathered together to pay their respects during a special mass in Laval, Que. on Friday after an alleged bus attack at a daycare left two children dead and injured six others.
The Sainte-Rose-de-Lima Church opened its doors to the public and asked those in attendance to pray for the “deceased little angels, the injured children, their families and all the staff of the daycare.”
Father Michel Bouchard spoke of the young victims’ parents and families, saying they are living with anguish and experiencing extreme hardship.
“Everyone is traumatized,” Bouchard said. “We don’t understand.”
As the pastor who baptized a four-year-old boy who died in the crash, Bouchard said he was reminded that life is fragile. While he says there is no answer to such a tragedy, he hopes to give a message of hope to the loved ones.
Bouquets of colourful flowers and stuffed animals were laid at the front of the church as the ceremony began, with candles lit for those killed and injured in the crash earlier this week. Laval residents streamed into the church and sat quietly in the pews, with some accompanied by young children.
Marisa Annibale, a mother in attendance at the mass with her young daughter, said she can’t stop thinking of the parents who will never hold their children again.
“My heart aches for them,” she said.
Annibale hopes the ceremony will provide “light in the darkness” for the grieving families and the knowing they are not alone. She was joined by her father, who drove in from Toronto to show his support to the grief-stricken community.
“It rocks this neighbourhood pretty hard,” Rocco Racioppo said. “You never think anything could possibly happen when they are in a safe place like a school or daycare.”
The fatal crash has rattled anyone with children, he added. Racioppo held his granddaughter close as he spoke — she is the same age as the young kids who were killed.
“No words can describe it,” he said. “It’s a tragedy that should never have happened.”
The mass comes as Quebecers have gathered near the daycare in the days that followed the deadly collision. There is growing makeshift memorial near the building, lined with tributes for the young victims.
A transit driver rammed a city bus into the Garderie Éducative Ste-Rose early Wednesday during the busy drop-off period. A pair of four-year-old children were killed and six others were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Laval police arrested Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51, at the scene. Bystanders helped subdue him and pulled injured kids out from under the bus as first responders arrived.
The accused was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He also faces seven other charges, including attempted murder and aggravated assault.
St-Amand will return to court on Feb. 17.
— with files from Global News’ Tim Sargeant, Brayden Jagger Haines and The Canadian Press
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