Two men were killed when a pickup truck ran over pedestrians in a small town in eastern Quebec, in what police said was a “deliberate” act.

Witnesses told local media that the truck hit several people on Monday outside a microbrewery in Amke, then continued for 400 to 500 meters (450 to 550 yards) along the road.

The Quebec Provincial Police said nine people were injured, three of them seriously. Police said a baby was among the injured.

The 38-year-old driver, a local resident, surrendered to police and was arrested for allegedly committing the fatal hit and run, Sgt Helen St. Pierre said.

Canadian broadcaster CBC reported that he is expected to be charged on Tuesday.

“It is proven that the individual committed these acts in a premeditated manner, which is why we are talking about a murder investigation,” Sûreté du Québec spokesman Sergeant Claude Doiron told reporters on Tuesday.

Doiron said the motive is still under investigation, but police believe the incident was “premeditated” and the victims were “randomly targeted”.

“We’re talking about wandering pedestrians on Route 132 on both sides of the road,” he said. “We do not know the motives, the state of mind of the individual when he committed these acts.”

St-Pierre said the dead were two men, one in his 60s and the other in his 60s.

My thoughts are with the people of Amqui, Quebec today. As we learn more about the tragic events that have unfolded, I move everyone in my thoughts. And to the rescuers: thank you for your speed, your courage and your professionalism.

Justin Trudeau March 13, 2023

The accident happened shortly after 3 p.m. (7 p.m. GMT) along Rue Saint-Benoit in Amke, a town of about 6,000 people 350 kilometers (220 mi) northeast of the city of Quebec.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a post on Twitter: “My heart goes out to the people of Amky, Quebec today.” “As we learn more about the tragic events that have taken place, I am stirring everyone in my thoughts.”

Mayor Sylvie Blanchett said everything will be done to support residents after the accident.

“I am here for the people of my nation to tell them that we are with them from the bottom of our hearts,” she said, as reported by Radio Canada. “We know they will need support and that is what we will do in the hours and days to come.”

Last month in Laval, Que., police said a man driving a city bus deliberately crashed into a daycare center, killing two children.

In 2021, a man used a van to kill four members of an immigrant family in London, Ontario, in what Trudeau called an anti-Muslim hate crime.

In 2018, a man in a van attacked pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 people.