Preliminary hearing postponed for Quebec man charged with killing 3 people with truck

Coming together after Amqui tragedy Two days after the tragedy in Amqui, Que., community members are rallying together to support each other.

A preliminary hearing for a Quebec man charged with killing three people with his truck has been postponed until January 2024.

A spokesperson for the province's prosecutions office says the request was made by Steeve Gagnon's lawyer on Tuesday.

Gagnon, 38, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and nine counts of attempted murder in connection with the alleged attack on March 13 in Amqui, Que., about 350 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

A truck drove into several groups of pedestrians on a main street in the town in what police have described as an intentional act.

Gagnon turned himself in after the alleged attack, which claimed the lives of three people: Gérald Charest, 65; Jean Lafrenière, 73; and Simon-Guillaume Bourget, 41.

A three-day preliminary hearing had been scheduled to begin on Sept. 5, but the prosecutors office says the hearing will now start Jan. 15, 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2023.