(Saint-Léon-le-Grand) On Tuesday, in the village where Steve Gagnon grew up, relatives and acquaintances of the driver painted a portrait of an isolated man going through a bad patch.
Posted at 5:00 am
“He wasn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t a tough guy,” says the mayor of Saint-Léon-le-Grand, Jean-Côme Lévesque. “I think the wires touched. »
Since Monday, the mayor of the village of 990 has been trying to understand how Steve Gagnon was able to kill innocent people with his vehicle. The same Steeve Gagnon who the mayor remembers growing up in this village a ten-minute drive from Amqui, who was born a few days after his own daughter, and whom his wife taught.
Jean-Côme Lévesque even says he saw Steeve Gagnon a few minutes before the attack while he was going to Amqui to run errands.
“I saw him from behind. He lit a cigarette and got into his truck. It must have been about 3 p.m. I said to myself, “Here comes Steve.” »
” Nobody understands ”
Steeve Gagnon spent the early years of his life in Saint-Léon-le-Grand. According to relatives, he left the village in his early twenties.
He lived with his mother in a small white bungalow. When her parents separated, her father moved to British Columbia. He himself moved to the West for a few years, says one of his childhood friends, who prefers not to be named. He “worked in the forest” and then worked as a truck driver.
Steeve Gagnon had problems with alcohol, blows his friend. “He had substance abuse issues, OK. But from there to do that? He adds: “Everyone knows everyone here. Nobody understands. »
be on sick leave
Several elements suggest that Steve Gagnon was going through a difficult time in his life. A friend of his thinks he is sick. André-Luc St-Laurent wrote in a Facebook post that he has since deleted that he had a beer with Steve Gagnon last week.
SCREENSHOT FROM FACEBOOK
Publication by André-Luc St-Laurent about Steeve Gagnon
“It wasn’t in the best shape but it would place. I could see you were ill, maybe I should have worked hard to get you treated. It might not have gone there, but you would have had to accept being sick like everyone else,” Mr St-Laurent wrote.
People interviewed by La Presse on Tuesday say Steve Gagnon, who worked as a truck driver at a Mont-Joli company, was on sick leave. He was reportedly suffering from back pain.
“Last summer I delivered firewood to his street. He recognized us, me and my son, and spoke to us,” recalls the mayor of Saint-Léon, Jean-Côme Lévesque.
“After that, when I got into the truck, I said to my son, ‘Steeve’s not a happy guy, you can see it in his eyes.’ But listen, I’m not a psychologist. »