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RIMOUSKI - A Quebec man who drove into pedestrians with his pickup truck in a rural town, killing three people and injuring nine others, was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury Saturday.

Steeve Gagnon, 40, was immediately sentenced to life in prison minutes after learning his fate as the jury returned following two days of deliberations with unanimous verdicts.

Gagnon was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder of three men and two counts of attempted murder of nine other people in March 2023 in Amqui, about 350 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

Three men were killed in the attack: 65-year-old Gérald Charest, 73-year-old Jean Lafrenière and 41-year-old Simon-Guillaume Bourget. The nine who were injured included children.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Louis Dionne thanked the jury for their service and sentenced Gagnon to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years on the murder charges and 10 years for each of the attempted murder charges, to be served concurrently.

Dionne told Gagnon that his acts "remain incomprehensible."

"Your crimes are senseless and heinous, no punishment will be able to bring Gérald, Jean and Simon-Guillaume back to their families or erase the pain and harm caused," the judge said. 

"But we can hope that the trial that has just concluded will go some way toward mourning this tragedy."

The Crown had painted the accused as an angry and frustrated man who was jobless, unhappy with life and struggling with money problems and health issues. 

It argued the acts that led to the deaths were intentional and premeditated, saying Gagnon had formed and adapted a plan that resulted in pedestrians being run down on the road as he accelerated his truck onto the sidewalk.

Prosecutor Simon Blanchette replayed parts of videos Gagnon made on his cellphone two days before, in which he described how he would run down dozens of children with his truck in three Amqui schools and then go wait at the police station.

Gagnon drove to a schoolyard just before the fatal drive, Blanchette said, but it was empty since there were no classes that day. So the prosecution said he executed his plan by striking down people on the busy boulevard instead.

Gagnon, according to the prosecution, "developed a plan to take revenge on society."

At least two witnesses saw Gagnon's face behind the wheel and one reported he was smiling as he circled back to view what had happened. Gagnon would then turn himself in to police.

The accused argued the deaths were an accident in a moment of inattention when he picked up an e-cigarette from the cab of his truck. 

His lawyer, Hugo Caissy, said his client's story was "reckless, but not implausible" and that Gagnon should be acquitted or at least not found guilty of a premeditated act, something the jury dismissed.

Before sentencing, Blanchette, who prosecuted the case with Jérôme Simard, read a letter from Bourget's parents addressed to the judge, describing "two long years filled with pain and torment" and the difficulties of parents watching a child die.

"Steeve Gagnon deprived us of our eldest son, a life lost through a completely gratuitous act, carried out in cold blood and without the appearance of any remorse," the parents wrote.

"This nameless act plunged us into a horrible nightmare and created an immense void for the rest of our lives."

The parents said Bourget left them a charming grandson with whom to share his father's memory. 

"We live in a society that seems to have lost its bearings, and sometimes we feel like we are navigating total chaos," the parents said.

Jurors heard 48 testimonies — 46 of them witnesses called by the Crown. The trial began sitting in mid-May in Rimouski, Que., northeast of the provincial capital.

Gagnon's testimony during trial was marked by expletive-laden tirades against the prosecution, his own lawyer, the judge and the jurors — so much so that he was ordered out of the room at times.

Dionne cut him short again Saturday when he asked Gagnon if he had anything to say after the jury's verdicts and he began to ramble.

"Steve Gagnon, take the time to reflect," Dionne told him. 

"Given all the harm you caused to the victims, during your detention -- your conduct being difficult to forgive -- I still hope that one day you will find the path to rehabilitation."

This report by ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥was first published June 21, 2025.

— By Sidhartha Banerjee in Montreal.