The La Loche shooter was his usual quiet self and didn’t act any different prior to the shooting, his aunt testified Thursday at the teen’s sentencing hearing.
“He was the same quiet boy. There was nothing out of the ordinary,” she said.
The aunt, who testified as the defence’s second witness, said the teen lived with his adoptive mother, never had a dad or a girlfriend, and wasn’t involved in any activities or sports. He sometimes threw tantrums or would argue with his mom about going to school, and he stopped hanging out with his friends and spent more time alone in his room during the years leading up to the shooting, she said.
“It’s almost like something went wrong in his world that caused all of this,” she said.
She said the family didn’t know many details about trouble the shooter was having in school.
The teen was in his third year of Grade 10 at the time of the shooting.The aunt testified she didn’t know he failed Grade 10. She also said she became concerned the teen may one day self-harm.
The aunt said the teen’s family members are “very religious people” and have forgiven the shooter, along with other members of the community. She said the teen has changed for the better since his arrest. He now greets family members with a hug when they visit him at Kilburn Hall and is more talkative, according to his aunt.
The aunt can’t be identified to protect the identity of the teen, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He was 17 when, in January 2016, he killed two brothers in a house in La Loche before opening fire at a school, killing two and injuring seven others.
In October he pleaded guilty to the crimes. The hearing in Meadow Lake Provincial Court will determine if he’ll receive an adult or youth sentence.
The teen’s idolization of school shooters, coupled with a lack of certain “moral fibre,” reasoning skills and an understanding of consequences due to his poor intellectual development, led him to open fire at the community’s school, a forensic psychiatrist testified Thursday.
Dr. Mansfield Mela took the stand as the first witness called by the defence. He testified he met with the teen for a total of 12 hours in April 2016, interviewed the teen's family members and met with him again in May 2016.
He said the teen’s flashbacks of the January 2016 shooting have led to the teen’s feeling of hopelessness. At one point, the teen received sleep medication because the images were keeping him up at night, he said.
Mela pointed to indicators showing the teen has chromosomal abnormalities and inadequate brain function. He also told court the teen displays characteristics of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, but testified there is no conclusive evidence to support that.
He diagnosed the teen with six disorders: intellectual development disorder, conduct disorder, major depressive disorder, cannabis-use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and parent-child relationship problems.
Court heard the teen became reclusive, spent less time with friends and became "different," and began smoking marijuana once or twice a day about three years before shooting.
Mela said, because of the teen’s intellectual disorder, he lacks ability to reason and understand consequences. He also stated the teen’s functioning and emotional stability seemed to be deteriorating, which, couple with the teen’s marijuana consumption, resulted in his worsening depression and intellect.
The shooter is impressionable and became obsessed with violence and "idolized" school shooters, Mela testified.
"He could rattle off the names of school shooters beyond what his memory could contain," he said.
"A combination of a foundation of intellectual deficit, inability to reason, poor moral judgment and social judgement, he made that decision without thinking of the consequences.”
The teen got a 68, a score less than two per cent of people his age receive, on an IQ test, Mela testified.
He said he believes the teen's statement he was never physically, sexually or emotionally abused.
Under cross-examination, Mela testified he can't identify what led to the teen's intellectual development disorder, which he diagnosed.
He said no “rational or reasonable” thing triggered the shooting.
Crown prosecutor Lloyd Stang mentioned a piece of paper found in the teen’s binder with a list of his likes and dislikes. Among his likes were: weed, BMX, guns, Xbox, family and friends. His dislikes: school, teachers and students.
Speculation bullying motivated the teen to open fire at the school arose shortly after the shooting, but Stang noted the teen told numerous people he was not bullied and that bullying did not lead to the shooting.
Mela testified the teen told him he was not bullied.
The doctor’s testimony differed from two Crown experts who testified Wednesday.
Psychologist Dr. Katelyn Harker and psychiatrist Dr. Declan Quinn both didn't diagnose the teen with any mental or psychological disorders.
Harker did diagnose him with minor cannabis-use disorder and discussed a report that said the shooter told a caseworker at Kilburn Hall he wanted to know "what it would feel like" and became "obsessed" and "messed up" after watching videos of mass shootings online.
Declan said he was just as puzzled now as the first day he met the teen as to why he committed the crimes.
In the days leading up to the shooting, and on the day of, the teen searched subjects on the Internet about guns, school shootings and what it feels like to kill, according to an agreed statement of facts in the case.
On Jan. 22, 2016, the teen shot and killed brothers Dayne and Drayden Fontaine in a home in La Loche. Dayne was shot 11 times after pleading for his life, according to the agreed facts. The shooter later expressed remorse for killing the brothers, saying it wasn’t part of the plan, but going to the school and opening fire was.
While driving a truck to La Loche Community School, the shooter posted in a Facebook group chat, writing, “just killed 2 ppl” and “bout to shoot ip (sic) the school.”
Inside, he opened fire and killed teacher Adam Wood, 35, at close range and teacher’s assistant Marie Janvier, 21, through a classroom window. He injured seven others.
RCMP officers arrested the teen after he exited a school washroom unarmed, announcing he was the shooter. He entered the school at 1:04 p.m. and was arrested at 1:16 p.m., according to the agreed facts.
Defence lawyer Aaron Fox told reporters the shooter is expected to make a statement on Friday. Testimony from a psychologist is also expected.
Dates for closing arguments and a decision have yet to be scheduled.
--- CTV is in Meadow Lake for the sentencing hearing. Follow our coverage:
