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La Loche school shooting: final submissions at sentencing hearing for teen

Final submissions are scheduled Friday at the sentencing hearing for a teenager who shot and killed four people and injured seven others at a home and a high school in northern Saskatchewan.

The teen pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder in the January 2016 shooting in La Loche.

FULL COVERAGE: La Loche school shooting

The hearing is to determine whether the teen is sentenced as an adult or a youth – he cannot be named because he was just shy of his 18th birthday when the shootings occurred.

He could get six years of custody and four years probation if sentenced as a youth but faces a life sentence as an adult.

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Some victims have already told court that the teen should be sentenced as an adult because of the severity of his crimes.

READ MORE: Teen apologizes to victims at sentencing hearing

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In June, the teen apologized to those who died, those who survived and their families.

He tearfully said if he could talk to teacher Adam Wood, who died from his injuries, he would tell him he was sorry.

“If he was here right now, I would say to him: ‘I didn’t really know you, but I heard you were a good person, a kind person … and I’m sorry I shot you. You were not a target.”‘

The teen said the same about teacher’s aide Marie Janvier, who also died, and apologized to her mother.

“I’m sorry I ruined your life and took your daughter away. All she wanted to do was help students,” he told Jackie Janvier, who sat through every day of the two-week sentencing hearing.

READ MORE: Teen told police he had regrets about the shooting

An agreed statement of facts read out in court detailed the shooter’s murderous path from the home to the community’s high school.

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Court heard that the teen first killed Dayne Fontaine, 17, and then his brother Drayden, who was 13. Dayne pleaded for his life before he was shot 11 times, including twice in the head. Drayden was shot twice.

The teen then drove to the high school, where surveillance footage captured his frightening walk through the halls, his shotgun raised, as students and staff ran in fear.

When police arrived, the shooter ran into a women’s washroom where he put his weapon down and gave himself up.

The teen said he didn’t know what he was thinking when he pulled the trigger.

READ MORE: Students had a look of ‘horror on their faces

A neuropsychologist testified for the defence that the teen had an IQ of 68, which is considered well below average. A defence psychiatrist testified that the teen has symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, an intellectual disability, major depressive disorder and displays signs of fetal alcohol syndrome.

However, a child psychiatrist who testified for the Crown said the teen did not come across as being clearly developmentally delayed or slow.

Judge Janet McIvor has already said she will deliver her sentence at a later date.

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