Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois is removed from the stage by police as she as she declares victory to supporters in Montreal, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 following her election win. Police were not immediately able to provide details but party organizers informed the crowd that there had been an explosive noise and they needed to clear the auditorium. Police say one man was arrested and two people were injured. (AP Photo/Graham Hughes, The Canadian Press)

Security incident mars win for Quebec separatists

By PHIL COUVRETTE

| The Associated Press

First Published Sep 04 2012 10:54 pm • Last Updated Sep 04 2012 11:30 pm

Montreal » Police say a man fired a gun during a midnight victory rally for Quebec’s new premier, killing one person and wounding another. The new premier, Pauline Marois of the separatist Parti Quebecois, was whisked off the stage and uninjured.

It was not clear if the gunman was trying to shoot Marois, whose party favors separation for the French-speaking province from Canada. Police identified the gunman only as a 50-year-old man. Police say he set a small fire behind the building before he was arrested.

Marois returned to the stage after the shooting and asked the crowd to peacefully disperse.

Police say they don’t know the gunman’s motive, but say the suspect, while being dragged toward the police cruiser, shouted in French, "The English are waking up!"

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

About Reader Comments

---

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account.
See more about comments here.