Fresh charges laid against man accused in nail-gun shooting

PICTOU, N.S. — Shawn Wade Hynes is facing a fresh charge in connection with the Sept. 19 nail-gun shooting at a work site in Abercrombie, Pictou County. Pictou County RCMP have charged Hynes with a count of assault with a weapon causing bodily harm in addition to the September charge of criminal negligence. Hynes was first arrested on Sept. 27, nearly 10 days after allegedly shooting Nhlanhla Dlamini in the back with an airpowered nail gun. Nhlanhla Dlamini, 22, was in hospital for four days following the incident in September with a partially collapsed lung. At the time, he had been working for PQ Properties and was building a house for the contracting company’s owner, Paul Quinn. Dlamini has since returned to work, but for a different contractor. “He’s doing his best to move on. He’s participating in work activities. He’s with his friends and with his family,” said his mother Stacey Dlamini. “But it’ll never go away. You don’t go through something violent and just forget about it.” Stacey Dlamini also said that her son continues to experience pain associated with the injury. “He permanently lost the use of three per cent of the lung that was punctured. It just won’t re-inflate ever,” she said. “He talks about the fact that if he laughs too hard, or if he breathes too deeply he can feel it.” Stacey Dlamini, who was at Pictou provincial court on Monday, said she wasn’t aware of the additional charge. “I think it’s a good thing that this charge was added, and we’ll see what happens.” Dlamini said she came to see if Hynes would appear in court, but he did not. His lawyer, Andrew O’Blenis, had filed papers for designation of council back in February and was in court on Monday representing Hynes. O’Blenis also said in court that he was unaware of the new charges until Monday morning, and the matter of election or plea has been adjourned until March 25. This is the third time that the matter has been moved ahead since January. “It’s a little bit frustrating with the current delays,” said Dlamini. “We hoped that we would have been at this point already at the beginning of January. But justice takes time, and we understand that. At the end of the day we’re here to see that justice is served.”