The gunman at the center of a series of seemingly random murders that claimed the lives of three people in Montreal and Laval over a 24-hour period has been allowed to continue living outside a mental health facility, even whether a psychiatrist deemed him a “significant risk to public safety” because of his mental state last spring.
The shooter, Abdulla Shaikh, 26, was fatally shot by Montreal police Thursday morning in a motel parking lot during an operation linked to the three murders. Investigators believe they were randomly executed by the young man.
Court records show that Shaikh had a criminal record for assault and mischief charges.
But a decision by the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec raises questions about why he was allowed to continue living outside the direct supervision of mental health professionals when he was considered a danger to others.
The man’s psychiatrist testified at a hearing in March 2022 that Shaikh had improved his mental state over the previous six months, but there were “ongoing concerns”. These concerns included “the denial and trivialization of behavioral disorders, violence and psychiatric pathology” as well as “the heavy history of accusations of criminal acts of all kinds remains denied, which trivializes the future risks of passing in action”.
“The Commission accepts from the evidence that [the accused] still represents, due to his mental state, a significant risk to public safety,” the March 29 ruling reads.
A summary of his case showed Shaikh was released from a mental health facility on January 25, 2021 and sentenced to several conditions after being found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for a crime committed in 2018.
During his annual release review, the psychiatrist raised concerns about Shaikh’s mental state and risk to public safety, citing his patient’s “unpredictability of aggressive behavior” and lack of access to family members by the treatment team. The doctor nevertheless recommended that he stay outside the psychiatric establishment under several conditions, in particular to reside in a place approved by the head of the hospital, to comply with the recommendations of his medical team, to avoid drugs, to keep order and do urinalysis.
The summary says the man showed up near the entrance to Trudeau Airport in Montreal and lit his passport on fire with a candle in July 2018. He also visited the airport twice from more and was told to leave before being arrested after he attempted to break in. secure area of Mirabel airport.
SUSPECT REACHED BY POLICE
Shaikh was armed when he was shot and killed by police at the Pierre Motel in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough around 7 a.m. Thursday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), says the police are still working to determine the motive for the murders.
She notes that there is no suggestion that the suspect, who suffered from “mental health issues”, knew the three victims.
Officers don’t believe he had any accomplices.
As the shooting involves police officers, the Independent Investigation Bureau (BEI) of Quebec took up the case.
‘I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT’
Montreal Police Acting Chief Sophie Roy adds that the force worked “day and night” to find the suspect after the first shooting Tuesday night.
“We will continue to work hard to fight gun violence,” she said, offering her condolences to the families of the victims.
Nonetheless, locals say the incident made them think twice about the actual safety of their neighborhood.
“I saw police coming out of the back of our building and I didn’t know what was going on,” said Beverley Nadeau, who lives nearby. “I can’t believe it, in our area, in our house. Now I’m a little scared to go out.”
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante took to Twitter to thank the various police forces involved in Thursday morning’s operation.
“It is in times like these that we must all work together and trust our authorities with a common goal of keeping our people safe,” she wrote. “I would like to offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims.”
The BEI asks anyone who was able to attend the event to contact the investigators online.
THREE DEADLY SHOTS
The police intervention comes after three recent murders in Montreal and Laval.
The first incident occurred at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday in the borough of Saint-Laurent.
The police were called to the intersection of Jules-Poitras and Deguire boulevards near Roman-Zytynsky Park.
“Once at the scene, the police found the victim with gunshot wounds to the upper body,” said Gabriella Youakim, spokeswoman for the Montreal police. “The victim died at the scene.”
The man was later confirmed to be André Lemieux, the father of professional boxer David Lemieux.
Shortly after, at 10:50 p.m., police were called to a shooting in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.
When the police arrived at the intersection of Sauvé Ouest and Meilleur, near Saint-Benoît Park, they found a 48-year-old man lying on the ground.
“His death was confirmed on the spot,” Youakim said. “No arrests have been made so far.”
This victim was identified as Mohamed Salah Belhaj, a worker at the Albert-Prévost Mental Health Hospital.
Then, Wednesday at 9:30 p.m., the Laval police (SPL) were called to a shooting on Boulevard Clermont.
The victim, a 22-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Laval police spokeswoman Stephanie Beshara. His body was found next to a skateboard at the crime scene.
The police did not release his identity.
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