‘I’m sorry I shot you’

La Loche shooter apologizes at sentencing hearing

A teenager who killed four people and injured seven others during a shooting rampage at a home and a high school in the northern Saskatchewan community of La Loche has apologized to his victims.

People wept as the teen addressed each of his victims at a sentencing hearing Friday, which will determine if he will be sentenced as an adult or a youth.

The teen tearfully said if he could talk to teacher Adam Wood, who died from his injuries, he would tell him he was sorry.

“If he was here right now, I would say to him: ‘I didn’t really know you, but I heard you were a good person, a kind person ... and I’m sorry I shot you. You were not a target,’” he said.

The teen said the same about teacher’s aide Marie Janvier, who also died, and apologized to her mother.

“I’m sorry I ruined your life and took your daughter away. All she wanted to do was help students,” he said to Jackie Janvier, who has sat through every day of the two week sentencing hearing.

Some of the seven survivors of the shooting were students who can’t be named. To substitute teacher Charlene Klyne, who lost her sight in the January 2016 shooting, the teen said he was sorry for shooting her while she was sitting in her classroom.

“I’m sorry for ruining your life that day,” he said. “You weren’t someone who was a target.”

The teen said he didn’t know what he was thinking when he pulled the trigger.