WARNING: This story deals with sensitive subject matter and may be upsetting to some readers.
Mohammad Imtiaz says he watched as his wife was savagely attacked by a neighbour.
While she survived, Imtiaz says she’s deeply traumatized.
“We brought her home but she’s scared to come here in her apartment,” Imtiaz said.
It all happened last week in a condo tower in Vaudreuil-Dorion.
The suspect is accused of killing his 68-year-old mother and a 53-year-old neighbour.
“Then, when he saw my wife coming out from my apartment, he rushed toward her and then he hit something very hard, hammered her in the head, then she fell on the ground. Then he went again in the apartment and brought some big knives and some other dangerous things that he pushed in her nose and eyes and everything, and then he tried to cut her throat,” Imtiaz said. “A lot of blood was on the floor and on the wall.”
Imtiaz says a neighbour called 911. Shortly after, Fabio Puglisi was arrested.
He appeared in court on Thursday, where he was deemed unfit to stand trial. He was ordered to take forced treatment for 30 days before his next court appearance.
Court documents show Puglisi has a long history of mental illness. He has twice been found not criminally responsible for offences committed in 2012 and 2020.
“Why is a person like that free in the public?” Vaudreuil Mayor Guy Pilon said.
Currently, those with mental health issues can refuse treatment.
If they are not deemed an immediate danger to themselves or others, they are let go, often without any followup.
Pilon has written to Lionel Carmant, the minister responsible for health and social services, asking him to review that aspect of the law, known as P.38.
In the letter, the mayor wonders if the incident could’ve been avoided, adding he hopes that the revision of the law is done as soon as possible.
“We are entitled to question the notion of serious and immediate danger, mentioned in this law, which can justify a reason for consultation with a specialist. In a situation of imminent danger, who makes the diagnosis? Is it possible to see a psychiatrist quickly?” Pilon’s letter read.
“What happens in the case of a person suffering from a mental health disorder who is not aware of the seriousness of their illness and does not want to take their medication? Could it slip through the cracks of the system? Is this what happened last February 15 in my city? The investigation will tell us.”
Pilon told Global News more access to mental health services is needed.
“Not only you have to protect people who have problems but you have to protect people who live with them or live around them,” Pilon said.
Families of those suffering from mental health issues agree.
“We have to make sure first that the possibility of danger is well evaluated, but also that a followup is done with workers who specialize in crisis,” said René Cloutier, with the Réseau Avant de Craquer, a non-profit offering support to families with members who suffer from mental health issues.
A spokesperson for Carmant told Global News they are currently working on programs to increase access to mental health services, while acknowledging Pilon’s letter.
“We would like to express our support and tell him that we share his concerns,” Lambert Drainville wrote in a text to Global News. “To this end, we have entrusted the Quebec Law and Justice Reform Institute (IQRDJ) with the mandate to analyze in depth the application of the law, in particular by consulting groups and individuals who wish to express themselves on this sensitive subject.
“Once the institute’s work is completed and its report submitted, we will carefully study all of its recommendations.”
P.38 has been under revision by the Quebec Law and Justice Reform Institute since last May.
The Institute is expected to present a final report at the end of 2025.
— with files from The Canadian Press