Quebec man who killed three people at random 'not psychotic,' says psychiatrist
The psychiatrist whose patient killed three people at random over a 24-hour span in the Montreal area in August 2022 told a coroner's inquest Thursday that what triggered the killing spree will likely never be known.
Dr. Martin Vézina says he last saw Abdulla Shaikh in March 2022, a few months before the 26-year-old man killed three men on the street: André Lemieux, Mohamed Belhaj and Alex Levis-Crevier.
"It's very difficult to know what he had in his head," Vézina testified at the inquiry, which is investigating the three deaths and the police killing of Shaikh.
"We know that he clearly had anti-social personality disorder traits; did he have a pleasure in causing harm (at the time)? Did he distinguish between right and wrong? Was the illness present?"
"I saw someone who was not psychotic and if he was psychotic, he hid it very, very, well," the doctor testified.
Vézina's last meeting with Shaikh took place about two weeks before his patient was assessed by Quebec's mental health review board, which concurred with Vézina's recommendation: Shaikh could remain in the community despite posing a significant risk to public safety.
The board agreed with the doctor that the patient denied and trivialized his behavioural disorder, but had shown improvement over the previous six months.
Shaikh, 26, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been hospitalized in Laval, Montreal's northern suburb, three times between 2018 and 2021.
The inquest has heard that in Montreal on Aug. 2, 2022, Shaikh shot and killed Lemieux and Belhaj within a one-hour period. Then, the 26-year-old travelled to Toronto to visit the city's zoo and Canada's Wonderland before returning to Montreal and shooting dead Levis-Crevier, as the 22-year-old was skateboarding on a Laval street. On Aug. 4, Montreal police tracked Shaikh down to a motel, where he allegedly shot at officers. He died in an exchange of gunfire.
Earlier Thursday, psychiatrist Dr. Simon Roussel presented findings from 2015 indicating that Quebec's mental health board follows patients for less time than do the boards of Ontario and British Columbia. As well, Quebec's board uses less coercive means in its decisions, compared to the two other provinces. Meanwhile, recidivism rates for mental health patients in Quebec were two times higher than they were in Ontario and British Columbia.
Roussel said the 2015 study indicated that in Quebec only 19 per cent of patients were followed by a mental health review board for more than five years, compared to 31 per cent in British Columbia and 58 per cent in Ontario. Psychiatric patients under the surveillance of a mental health board were detained in those two provinces for longer than they were in Quebec: 1.5 times longer in B.C. and four times longer in Ontario.
Earlier in the day, Roussel said he sent a letter on Aug. 4, 2022, to regional health officials about the deaths of Lemieux, Belhaj and Levis-Crevier, denouncing the severe lack of psychiatrists in Laval. He said patients in the Montreal suburb couldn't be properly monitored because of a psychiatrist shortage.
Roussel says he never received a reply to his letter, other than an indirect comment that he had bypassed the hierarchy by writing to health authorities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Tropical Storm Milton could hit Florida as a major hurricane midweek
People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Milton, for now just a tropical storm off the coast of Mexico, could intensify rapidly into a major hurricane before slamming midweek into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.
Looking for cheap flights for the holidays? Here are some tips to remember
Travelling on a budget can be stressful, but there are ways you can ensure you're getting the best deal on flights as the holiday season approaches.
Officer arrested after allegedly stealing alcohol from store: TPS
A Toronto police officer has been arrested after allegedly stealing three bottles of alcohol from a store.
Son charged with mother's murder on Vancouver Island
Police on Vancouver Island have made an arrest in the case of a 78-year-old woman found dead in her home almost two years ago.
Trump ramps up his campaign in Wisconsin, where a Republican win could knock out Democrats
Donald Trump's fourth scheduled stop in eight days in Wisconsin is a sign of his increased attention as Republicans fret about the former president's ability to match the Democrats' enthusiasm and turnout machine.
The cooking method you need to learn to get excited about vegetables this fall, expert says
'Eat more vegetables,' doctors and dietitians say over and over. But for many people, it’s hard to do, because they aren’t excited about veggies or just don’t like them.
Frequent drinking of fizzy beverages and fruit juice linked to an increased risk of stroke: research
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton’s McMaster University.
Liberal, Conservative MPs to speak at Oct. 7 march to Parliament Hill
A Liberal MP and a Conservative MP will be part of a team delivering speeches at an event in Ottawa commemorating the one year anniversary of the attacks on Oct. 7.
Police ID mom, daughter killed in Old Montreal; video shows person break into building before fatal fire
Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.