A man attacks two workers near a Gatineau school

On November 14, a 911 call was made around 2:30 p.m. after an incident occurred outside the Nouveau-Monde school, on Sainte-Yvonne Street, in the Gatineau sector.

“According to information, two responders were walking on the sidewalk with a student from the area school when a man allegedly approached them. The suspect, in this case, would have physically attacked the responders,” explains the Police Department of the City of Gatineau (SPVG).

The responders and the child were left with a good scare, but were not injured. On the other hand, they were seen by the paramedics on a preventive basis, it is specified.

The suspect fled before police arrived on scene, so they gathered information from witnesses.

An investigation is still underway, with information still to be validated by the authorities.

“Unacceptable”

The Outaouais School Support Union (SSSO-CSQ), which was quickly informed of the incident last week, deplores the situation, even if it appears to be isolated.

“It’s certain that it’s unacceptable, not just because it’s support staff, but because it’s unacceptable, period, in life, for someone to be attacked,” says the president. Kim Lafleur-Lauriault. Especially in a school environment, when people are only doing their job and their first responsibility is to ensure the health and safety of everyone.”

The latter said “take her hat off” to the two staff members involved in this event, who allegedly kept their cool.

“But it’s an isolated incident, fortunately. I’ve never heard that in the many years I’ve been involved. This is a first. […] But the information we have is that there was good support, it was handled very well by the employer, she explains. The staff were entitled to all the services to which they were entitled following an incident of this kind.”

At the time of writing these lines, the Draveurs School Service Center (CSSD) had not made any comments on this subject.