Mixing meds made alleged Quebec election shooter a ticking time bomb: Defence expert

MONTREAL — A forensic psychiatrist who interviewed alleged Quebec election night shooter Richard Henry Bain says the cocktail of antidepressant medication he was taking made him a ticking time bomb. Marie-Frederique Allard told the jury today the three drugs Bain was allegedly taking in 2012 probably induced him into a state of hypomania. Bain has pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and two arson-related charges in connection with a shooting on Sept. 4, 2012, the night the Parti Quebecois won the provincial election. The Crown says the crime was premeditated and politically motivated, while the defence says Bain is not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder. Allard, the defence’s expert witness, has told the court she believes Bain was psychotic the night of the shooting. She says Bain shouldn’t have been on anti-depressants without also taking mood-stabilizers, and regularly counsels her patients to never mix the medications he was allegedly taking — Trazodone, Effexor and Cymbalta.