The city is located approximately 640 kilometers northeast of Quebec City. In an alert sent to cellphones Friday afternoon, the Sûreté du Québec said an “armed and dangerous suspect” was in the affected area. People should stay indoors, lock doors and stay away from windows, the alert said. People should follow the instructions of local authorities, check local media for details or visit a provincial emergency notification website. The Sûreté du Québec released this photo of the suspect, saying he is armed and dangerous in Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure, on the Gaspé Peninsula. (Submitted by Sûreté du Québec) Calling him an imminent threat to Saint-Elzéar on Twitter, SQ describes the suspect as 5-10 and 138kg with brown hair and green eyes. He is wearing jeans, a black top with a Jack Daniels logo and motorcycle boots. If they see him, witnesses should call 911, police say. The suspect has not been named on Twitter, although the SQ has released a photo. An SQ spokesperson told CBC News the man was in a state of mental crisis when he left his home at 2 a.m. in Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure and is armed. Police are looking for him around the intersection of Central Road and Route de l’Est.
Controversy over who got the notice
While people across southern Quebec received the emergency alert on their phones, SQ later clarified on Twitter that the emergency is specifically for Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure in the Gaspé region. However, some in the Gaspé region said they received no notification. Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure is located in northeastern Quebec, approximately 875 kilometers from Montreal. (Google Maps) The emergency alert was issued by Quebec Alert Ready and mandated by the Ministry of Public Security. Quebec Alert Ready says the alert was sent across the province at 3:24 p.m. on Friday with the severity level set to “extreme”. “We know that the alarm activated in the Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure sector, Gaspésie, was heard across the province,” SQ said on Twitter, two hours after the first alert. “We are also aware of the inconvenience this may have caused to some. Verifications are underway to determine what caused this issue.” However, the alert remains in effect for residents of the Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure region, the SQ reports. Saint-Elzéar-de-Bonaventure has a population of approximately 2,600.
