‘A child doesn’t do that’
COURT HEARS GRAPHIC DETAILS AT SENTENCING HEARING FOR LA LOCHE SHOOTER
The morning of Jan. 22, 2016, the teenager — who cannot be named — attended classes as usual at the La Loche Community School in the northern Saskatchewan village of the same name.
He agreed to meet with a teacher that afternoon to discuss his poor grades, and went home for a quick lunch.
He then retrieved ammunition from his bedroom and proceeded to shoot dead two brothers who lived across the street, before returning to school to shoot nine more, killing two, in a bloody rampage.
According to an agreed s t atement of f acts r ead out during the first day of the teen’s sentencing hearing in Meadow Lake, Sask, Tuesday, he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
He had researched school shootings and firearms on the Internet many times, said the statement of facts. Court also heard that he talked with a friend about shooting up the school in September 2015. But the friend didn’t take him seriously.
The teen can’t be identified under the Youth Crimi nal Justice Act because he was 17 at the time of the shootings. He has pleaded guilty to two counts of firstdegree murder, two counts of second- degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder.
Two weeks have been set aside — the first began Tuesday and another is scheduled in June — to determine if he should be sentenced as a youth or an adult. The Crown has served notice that it wants an adult sentence.
When the teenager left his home and went across the street to where brothers Dayne and Drayden Fontaine lived, Dayne, 17, was alone at the time, court heard.
The teenager went i nto Dayne’s bedroom and grabbed a .22- calibre rifle. Although Dayne and the teen were in different rooms, they talked about going back to school in the afternoon.
The teenager asked Dayne to come to him in the basement. Dayne did, and found the teen pointing the rifle at him. Court heard Dayne said “Don’t shoot me,” but the youth fired the rifle, hitting Dayne, who then screamed and ran. The shooter followed and shot him nine more times. Dayne told the teen he didn’t want to die. The teenager then shot him in the head.
He took a shotgun from the house along with the keys to a truck and left to drive to school. Drayden Fontaine, 13, ran toward the teen and asked if he could get a ride. The teen told Drayden to follow him back i nto the house. Once i nside, he shot Drayden twice. Drayden died of his injuries.
The teen paused to post messages online: “Just killed 2 ppl,” and “Bout to shoot ip the school.”
He then drove to the La Loche Community School, where he fatally shot two more people and injured seven others ranging in age from 13 to 58.
Video surveillance footage shown at the sentencing hearing Tuesday captured the teen’s frightening walk through the school’s halls, his shotgun raised, as students and staff ran in fear.
Teacher Adam Wood ran into the office and called 911.
“Shooter is c oming,” Wood could be heard telling the 911 operator as the call was played in court.
Wood was shot in the torso, fell to the ground, and was shot again. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
Teacher ’ s ai de Marie Janvier, who was 21, was also killed at the school.
A photograph shown in court showed Janvier’s body lying face down in a hallway, a pool of blood under her face and chest.
Janvier was shot when she ran to get help f or Charlene Klyne, a substitute teacher who was wounded when the shooter fired through the window of her classroom door.
Klyne lost all vision in her left eye, can see only dark shadows in her right eye and has numerous pellets lodged in 13 different spots from her jaw to her chest. She’s been told it’s too risky to have surgery to remove them.
Forty- six victim impact statements were entered as exhibits Tuesday; some have been scheduled to be read at the hearing by those who wrote them.
One statement submitted by the La Loche Community Safety Board described how the community used to feel safe and people were comfortable sending their children to school, but since the shooting attendance has declined.
It also stated how “the 22nd” has become part of daily conversations in La Loche, although many in the community are hesitant to use the word “shooting.”
Describing the youth as a “cold-blooded killer,” the statement from the safety board argued the teen should be held accountable and should not be shown leniency.
“We fear that the justice system will not hear us and will re- victimize the community.”
Other exhibits i nclude autopsy reports, 911 calls, surveillance footage, school records, a psychiatric report and two psychological reports on the shooter.
At the time of the shooting, the teen’s friends described him as the black sheep of his family and a victim of bullying at school. One person said the teen was often teased about his large ears.
At least one victim has said she wants him to be sentenced as an adult. Charlene Klyne — the injured substitute teacher — said last week that the severity of the crime warrants an adult sentence.
“I don’t think of a child grabbing a gun and shooting people ... seven he wounded; four he killed. A child doesn’t do that,” she said.
ONE STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY THE LA LOCHE COMMUNITY SAFETY BOARD DESCRIBED HOW THE COMMUNITY USED TO FEEL SAFE AND PEOPLE WERE COMFORTABLE SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL, BUT SINCE THE SHOOTING ATTENDANCE HAS DECLINED.