The sentencing hearing for a teen guilty of killing four people and wounding seven others in the La Loche school shooting has been delayed again.
Final arguments were to be heard on Friday by Judge Janet McIvor in Meadow Lake, Sask.
FULL COVERAGE: La Loche school shooting
Instead, the Crown asked for adjournment as the lead prosecutor in the case, Lloyd Stang, is being called to the bench as a judge and can’t proceed in the case.
“Mr. Stang was appointed to the bench, we received that news (Thursday),” Crown prosecutor Pouria Tabrizi-Reardigan explained.
McIvor granted the adjournment and apologized to people who had traveled from La Loche for the hearing, calling the adjournment an exceptional circumstance.
“This has been an exceptional circumstance. Everyone has been taken by surprise … I do apologize to the folks that have attended today,” McIvor said directly to the people who had traveled from La Loche.
La Loche Mayor Robert St. Pierre said while he acknowledges the exceptional circumstance, the waiting is still hard to deal with.
“As a community, and as the mayor of La Loche, we really want to get to that next step and be able to start our healing journey,” St. Pierre said.
READ MORE: Sentencing hearing delayed for La Loche school shooter, defence says he has FASD
Final arguments were originally to be heard on Aug. 25, but were delayed after a Gladue report was filed with the court stating the teen has fetal alcohol syndrome.
Defence lawyer Aaron Fox said the report “makes reference to some of the drinking history of (the teen’s) biological mom.”
The Crown now wants to question the authors of the report about their confirmation of the diagnosis.
On Sept. 11 a date will be set for when the two witnesses and final submissions will be heard.
The teen – who cannot be named because he was just shy of his 18th birthday when the shootings occurred – 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.
READ MORE: Teen apologizes to victims at sentencing hearing
Some victims have already told court that the teen should be sentenced as an adult because of the severity of his crimes.
The hearing is to determine whether the teen is to be sentenced as an adult or a youth. He could get six years in custody and four years probation if sentenced as a youth but faces a life sentence as an adult.
With files from The Canadian Press