Montreal daycare crash: Two children out of hospital as city holds vigils

Vigils have been held across Laval, north of Montreal, as the city mourns two four-year-old children killed when a driver rammed a bus into a daycare centre.

About a dozen people were injured in the crash, including six children.

Quebec's premier Francois Legault visited the site on Thursday to offer his condolences.

Two of the injured children have now been released from Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal.

The rest are in a stable condition and are expected to recover.

Residents and police remain puzzled as to why the suspect attacked the busy daycare on Wednesday morning.

The suspect, identified by police as Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Mr Legault laid a wreath at the scene, and spoke to parents and staff who worked there.

"There is nothing harder than losing a child," Mr Legault said. "How do we go on living? It's as serious as that."

Daycare centres across Quebec have hung white flags outside their doors in support of the victims' families.

Police said they still do not know what prompted the attack. The suspect had been employed as a bus driver by the local public transit system for 10 years, and has no criminal record or incidents of note on his file.

He appeared in court via video conference on Wednesday afternoon from hospital, where he was reportedly undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

The driver was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm.

Witnesses said the driver appeared to be acting erratically before he was stopped by bystanders.

Hamdi Ben Chaabane, an eyewitness, told reporters that the suspect exited the bus after the crash, took off his clothes and began yelling incoherently.

"It was a nightmare. It's horrible. He didn't stop yelling. He wasn't saying words," he said.

Mr Chaabane added that some people were helping children who were trapped underneath the vehicle's wheels and inside the daycare before first responders arrived.

Quebec's minister of social services, Lionel Carmant, said the suspect had not sought out any psychiatric or mental health care in the past, according to public health records.

"There was no request (for services) pending or anything," Mr Carmant said.

Police had cordoned off the area around the daycare by Wednesday afternoon. Residents have since visited the site to set up a makeshift memorial.

Flags at Quebec's National Assembly had been lowered at half mast in honour of the victims, and the city of Laval has planned a vigil for victims at a local church on Thursday evening.