Abdullah Shaikh, who killed three people in Montreal and Laval in August 2022 while he was under mandate from the Mental Disorders Examination Commission (CETM), acted with premeditation and organization, notes coroner Gehane Kamel, in calling for the creation of a specialized mental health court.
The CETM is responsible for assessing the risk posed by the mental state of an accused, and the measures to be taken to ensure the safety of the public. This commission is a section of the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec. The Ministry of Justice should review its structure “so that it acts as an exclusive and specialized court”, recommends Me Kamel in his public inquiry report released Thursday.
“Creating an administrative tribunal specialized in mental health, as in Ontario” would notably avoid having to appeal to several courts (Court of Quebec, Superior Court, CETM) for the same person, explains the coroner.
In a little less than 24 hours, on August 2 and 3, 2022, three people who were in the streets of Montreal and Laval (Mohamed Belhaj, André Lemieux, Alex Lévis-Crevier) fell to the bullets of Abdulla Shaikh.
“It is entirely likely that the actions committed in Laval and Montreal were organized, even planned. Mr. Shaikh seems to have premeditated these actions for a long time,” concludes Mr.e Kamel in a report of nearly 60 pages presenting more than twenty recommendations.
“He had multiple weapons and behavior that is not typical of psychosis. We are more like someone with a personality disorder who scrupulously planned these actions. »
The 26-year-old murderer was under CETM mandate due to offenses committed in 2018, for which he was found not criminally responsible.
He was shot dead in a motel room by the tactical intervention group of the Montreal Police Department on August 4, 2022, after firing in the direction of the police.
Mr. Shaikh, who had been hospitalized three times in a psychiatric unit, was not undermedicated at the time of the tragedy since the antipsychotic prescribed to him was still in therapeutic concentration in his blood, notes the coroner.
“The police investigation instead revealed that Mr. Shaikh’s actions were the subject of premeditation and organization. »
The man had started researching on the internet to obtain a firearm or components seven months earlier, had rented his vehicle the previous month, and had a “coherent” and another “cordial” discussion. shortly before his death, shows the reconstruction of the facts.
“The lack of resources is a real problem, but so are the follow-up structures for people who are resistant,” summarizes M.e Kamel. The coroner raises several other “red flags”, including “the interminable delays in criminal charges”, and the fact that interventions rely on the family while they are “emotionally caught between the tree and the bark “.