Jury finds Quebec City sword attacker guilty of first-degree murder News
Wilfredor, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Jury finds Quebec City sword attacker guilty of first-degree murder

A jury at the Superior Court of Quebec Friday found the individual behind Quebec City’s Halloween sword attacks in 2020 guilty of first-degree murder. All told, the 11-person jury convicted the attacker, Carl Girouard, of two counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.

The attacks on October 31, 2020 left two people dead and five others injured within Quebec City’s historic district. Girouard’s defense was premised on the belief that he was delusional and in a psychosis at the time and thus could not distinguish right from wrong. The prosecution argued that the attacks were planned and committed knowingly. Along with the testimony of two expert witnesses, they claimed that Girouard could not have been delusional at the time, as he showed some hesitation during the attacks. The prosecution also presented evidence that Girouard, now 26, had mentioned his intentions to a school counselor when he was 18 and spent significant time preparing his costume and appearance for the event.

Although there is no evidence that the attacks were racially motivated, the verdict comes less than a week after one such mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

Girouard’s sentencing is scheduled for June 10 when several victims of the attacks intend to testify. His lawyer has announced their intention to appeal the verdict.