MONTREAL - A gunman was arrested after shooting two people, one of them fatally, at the victory speech of Quebec’s Pauline Marois, whose separatist party is projected to win polls in the Canadian province. Another person was seriously wounded in the incident late Tuesday, as Marois was hustled offstage by bodyguards. She later returned to the podium, visibly shaken but unharmed, and quickly concluded her remarks. The shooting came as media projections showed Marois’s Parti Quebecois ousting Premier Jean Charest’s Liberals from power, which would make Marois, 63, the French-speaking Canadian province’s first female prime minister.
The alleged gunman was quickly arrested after firing a rifle into the crowded concert hall in the provincial capital Montreal, police said. The man, in his 50s, is also believed to have started a fire at the venue. “This is a homicide investigation. The death was confirmed at the scene. The motive is unknown at this time,” the Montreal police said on Twitter. Caught on camera during the arrest, the alleged gunman shouted: “The English are waking up!” apparently referring to fears of Francophone domination of the English-speaking minority in an independent Quebec. Local media reported that he also shouted: “It’s gonna be fucking payback!” The Parti Quebecois favors independence from mostly English-speaking Canada, but is not expected to immediately pursue secession.