The teen who pleaded guilty to killing four and injuring seven others in a January 2016 shooting in La Loche is scheduled back in a Meadow Lake courtroom to resume an adult sentencing hearing.
Judge Janet McIvor, who will decide whether the teen is sentenced as an adult, heard four days of evidence in May and is expected to hear four more days as the hearing picks up again Tuesday morning.
At the conclusion of the first portion of the hearing last month Crown prosecutor Lloyd Stang told reporters a psychologist and psychiatrist will be testifying as part of the Crown’s case.
The defence will be calling evidence, which will also include a psychologist and psychiatrist, defence lawyer Aaron Fox told CTV Saskatoon Monday.
The teen’s identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act since he was 17 years old at the time of the crimes. In October he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder.
During the first portion of the hearing court heard details for the first time about the events of the shooting and the teen’s state of mind before, during and after.
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.
In January 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 agree 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 the 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, and teacher’s assistant Marie Janvier, 21, and injured seven others.
RCMP offices 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 11:16, according to the agreed facts.
Many of the 46 people who filed victim impact statements with the court read them aloud, including those were injured in the shooting and family members of those who were killed. Many explained their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and some asked the teen be sentenced as an adult.
Court heard disturbing 911 calls, including from Wood minutes before he was shot at close-range two times in an office.
Janvier was killed after helping another teacher who was shot through a classroom door window. The teen walked away for about 40 seconds, then shot through the window again, striking Janvier.
Surveillance video from the school was played in court showing the shooter enter the school with a shotgun, firing shots at Wood and others, and pacing through the school.
A pre-sentence report showed the teen was described as a student who fell through the cracks and was scheduled to be tested to see if he should receive special programming.
He asked staff at Kilburn Hall if they’d be getting him a gift on the one-year anniversary of the shooting, and that he talked about bombings and mass killings with a smile, according to the report.
His primary case worker at the youth facility testified the teen made progress during his time there and his reading level dramatically increased. The case worker is expected to continue his testimony Tuesday. The four-day hearing is scheduled to wrap Friday in Meadow Lake Provincial Court.
