Gunman Shoots Two At Quebec Political Rally

One person has been killed and another injured after a man opened fire at a speech by the leader of the winning party in provincial elections in Quebec, Canada.

The 62-year-old man entered the Metropolis theatre in Montreal as Pauline Marois, the leader of Parti Quebecois (PQ), which campaigns for the region's independence, was addressing supporters.

RDI television showed pictures of police officers subduing a large man with a rifle who was apparently wearing a bath robe over black clothes.

The suspect also started a fire at the back of the building before he was captured, police said.

The province's premier-elect was bundled off the stage shortly after the man fired into the crowd. She later returned to ask the crowd to disperse peacefully.

It is not clear whether Mrs Marois was the target of the shooting.

Police said they had not yet established the suspect's motive, but while he was being dragged to a police car he shouted in French: "The English are waking up!"

In her speech shortly before the shooting, Marois had said that "the future of Quebec is to be a sovereign country".

However, the party is not expected to pursue secession for the largely French-speaking province from the rest of predominantly English-speaking Canada as it will only lead a minority government and many voters are believed to have been motivated by a desire to oust the sitting Liberal party rather than by independence.

The PQ won 54 of the 125 seats in the provincial legislature, ending nine years of rule by the Liberals. Previous PQ governments held independence referendums in 1980 and 1995, but both failed.