(Quebec and Montreal) The Chief Coroner, Me Pascale Descary, orders the launch of a public inquiry to shed light on the murders of André Lemieux, Mohamed Belhaj and Alex Lévis Crevier, who fell under the bullets of the alleged perpetrator of these crimes, Abdulla Shaikh.
Posted at 4:25 p.m.
Updated at 5:36 p.m.
The investigation will also target the death of the suspect, who was shot by the police at the motel Pierre, in the borough of Saint-Laurent.
The announcement came late Monday. A little earlier, Prime Minister François Legault had mentioned the holding of a coroner’s inquest to shed light on the events, without specifying the content. It’s the coroner Me Géhane Kamel, who notably led the public inquiry into the death of Joyce Echaquan and the deaths that occurred in certain living environments during the pandemic, who will do the investigation.
She will be assisted by a prosecutor who will be appointed shortly. “The hearings will allow any person of interest to express themselves concerning the circumstances of these deaths in order to analyze all the contributing factors, and this, with a view to proposing possible solutions for better protection of life”, wrote the coroner’s office in a press release. The details of the investigation as well as the dates of the hearings will be communicated “later”.
In recent days, a public inquiry had been called for by a number of citizens and residents. Two other investigations are already underway: that of the police operation on Thursday morning, during which the suspect was shot, has been transferred to the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI). The Sûreté du Québec will be responsible for investigating the three homicides.
The suspect in that case, Abdulla Shaikh, had a diagnosis of schizophrenia and narcissistic and antisocial personality traits, among other things, according to court documents. In 2016, he was charged, among other things, with sexual and armed assault. His trial was scheduled for next January, in Laval. In another mischief case in 2018, he was found not criminally responsible. He had since been followed in psychiatry and had been hospitalized until 2021. His condition required an annual review by the Mental Disorders Review Board, the last of which was carried out in March 2022.
According to our information, the suspect had been hospitalized at least once at the National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel. A psychiatrist had also judged last March that he represented “still a significant risk to public safety”.
Legault retracts, Montreal hopes for answers
Earlier on Monday, François Legault had briefly mentioned the holding of a coroner’s inquest, when he clarified his remarks about the death of the suspect. On Friday, he said he was “glad we got rid” of the alleged perpetrator of the triple murder. “What I wanted to say is that I am happy that the suspect has been put out of harm’s way,” he corrected during an announcement in Sept-Îles.
“Obviously, I was not happy that he died, we do not want that. There are people who do have mental health issues. There, there will be an investigation by the coroner and the police to see why this person was released, ”continued Mr. Legault.
On Friday, the Prime Minister also demanded answers. “You also have to see what happened, because given that it was someone who was already targeted, why was he released? Do we need to tighten…? “said Mr. Legault during a press scrum in Montreal, when he left a vaccination center where he had received his fourth dose.
The head of public security at the City of Montreal, Alain Vaillancourt, indicated Monday that he will closely follow the coroner’s inquest. “We offer our full cooperation in order to shed light on these tragic events. We hope that answers will be provided on the circumstances of the events in order to prevent such a tragedy from happening again,” he said.
“It’s absolutely disturbing, but we must not give in to fear. It could have happened anywhere, and you have to dig a little deeper and look: why did it happen? What happened ? “, had also questioned the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, Sunday.
In opposition, Chief Aref Salem also said he hoped that all the light would be shed so that this type of tragedy “never happens again”. “We welcome the launch of a public inquiry. […] These horrific events have heightened the concern of Montrealers, who have already been living with a feeling of insecurity for a year,” he explained.