The family of the soldier killed in a Quebec parking lot hit-and-run attack is angry that authorities couldn't do more to prevent his death.
"He didn't deserve to die like that. He was dedicated to his country and to his trade," Vincent's cousin and fellow soldier Sylvain Guerette told CTV Montreal on Wednesday.
Vincent died after he was struck in a St. Jean Sur Richelieu, Que. parking lot on Monday, in an incident that authorities say was linked to terrorist activity. Martin Couture-Rouleau, who drove his car into the soldiers, was being monitored by the RCMP, and had even been arrested when he tried to fly to Turkey in July. He was later released.
Guerette says Vincent’s family understands the risks of working in the military, but no one thought he would be killed in his home province.
And there's frustration, Guerette said, that authorities couldn't stop someone who was on their radar.
"We have so many rules in Canada that enforcement (officers) have their hands tied and they can't do anything."
Guerette added that he's not surprised by the shooting death of a soldier in Ottawa so soon after, likening the incidents to a "chain reaction." He also said he wouldn't be surprised if another attack occurred and worries soldiers on the home front are at increasing risk of attacks.
Supt. Martine Fontaine, who heads national security for the RCMP in Quebec, told reporters there is little more they could have done to prevent the attack on Vincent.
"It's difficult to do more because we could no arrest someone for having radical thoughts, it's not a crime in Canada," she said. "And unless we have clear indications of what he was doing, it was very difficult to prevent and stop him."
Fontaine added it is also not a crime to drive a car in a parking lot.
CSIS reported there are 90 Canadians who have joined or tried to join ISIS, including Couture-Rouleau.
Funeral arrangements for Vincent, who was a few months away from retirement, have not yet been made.
With files from CTV Montreal's Denise Roberts
