Coroner's inquest begins Monday into Montreal killing spree that left 4 dead, including alleged gunman

A coroner's inquest will begin Monday into the deaths of three people during a killing spree in Montreal last year.

André Lemieux, 64, Mohamed Belhaj, 48, and 22-year-old Alex Levis-Crevier died in the span of less than 25 hours after a gunman allegedly chose his victims at random between Aug. 2 and 3, 2022, according to police.

Public hearings into the three deaths will start Monday morning in Montreal and will be led by Coroner Géhane Kamel, Quebec's coroner's office announced Friday. The inquest will also look into the death of Abdulla Shaikh, the man accused of opening fire on the victims and who was later shot dead by police at the Pierre Motel in Montreal's Saint-Laurent borough on the morning of Aug. 4, 2022. He was known to have mental health issues.

Hearings will take place Monday to Thursday of next week, and resume Oct. 2 to 5. Subsequent hearings will be on Oct. 10 to 13 and then from Oct. 17 to 20.

After the killings, it was later revealed that the accused gunman was allowed to continue living outside of a mental health facility despite a mental health review board hearing evidence from a psychiatrist that Shaikh was "a significant risk to the public safety" due to his mental state.

The board also heard at a hearing that Shaikh had shown signs of improvement prior to the ruling that allowed him to remain living freely.

Police sources also told several media outlets after the killings that he may have carried a weapon that was not only illegal but built using various readily available parts.