Most jurors selected in murder trial for Quebec man in truck attack that killed three

RIMOUSKI — Jury selection began on Thursday at the opening of a high-profile murder trial in eastern Quebec involving a man charged with killing three people with a truck.

Forty-year-old Steeve Gagnon faces five charges, including three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder involving nine victims.

It took the court half a day to choose 14 jurors, only 12 of whom will ultimately be sequestered.

However, one of the jurors will need to be replaced, a process that will conclude on Friday morning at the courthouse in Rimouski, Que., northeast of Quebec City.

Gagnon turned himself in to police after a truck struck pedestrians on a main street of Amqui, Que., in March 2023.

That town is about 350 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

The incident claimed the lives of 65-year-old Gérald Charest, 73-year-old Jean Lafrenière and 41-year-old Simon-Guillaume Bourget.

Superior Court Justice Louis Dionne will instruct jurors on Friday, with the first Crown witnesses to follow.

The trial is expected to last up to eight weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.