A fatality inquiry into the killing of a priest in a small town northeast of Edmonton details the crime and subsequent shootout with Mounties, but makes no recommendations to prevent a similar death.
The body of Rev. Gilbert Dasna was found on the floor of a Catholic rectory in St. Paul in May 2014.
RCMP have said they believe John Carlos Quadros, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound later that day, killed Dasna.
A report by provincial court Judge Robert Shaigec says the fatality inquiry heard from 10 witnesses, including RCMP, a medical examiner and an EMS attendant.
It says there is no evidence that Quadros knew Dasna, but notes that police determined that Quadros harboured animosity toward the government, police and organized religion.
The report confirms Dasna was killed by multiple gunshot wounds in a homicide.
“There were no eyewitnesses to the events that occurred at the church rectory,” said the report released Tuesday.
“However, based upon all the evidence gathered, it’s believed that John Quadros attended at the north door of the residence. Father Dasna’s practice was to open the door to anyone who knocked.
“John Quadros then shot Father Dasna several times at close range.”
Dasna called 911 after he was shot, but he was barely able to speak.
About the same time, Quadros — who was wearing body armour — drove a pickup truck through a parking lot at the St. Paul RCMP detachment. He fired a number of shots at the police station before he drove away.
Three Mounties left the detachment to search for the truck.
The report said that Const. Shane Visser, who spotted the vehicle and followed it, noticed that the suspect was pointing a gun at him.
Shots fired by Quadros hit the police vehicle and Visser’s hand.
Cpl. James Morton then started to follow Quadros as Const. Tammy Protasiwich, who was monitoring the pursuit on her police radio, tried to block traffic in the area.
Quadros rammed Protasiwich’s vehicle, which pinned her in the vehicle and seriously injured both her legs.
Quadros then shot at Morton as he arrived at the scene, hitting his front windshield and covering him in shards of glass.
The report said that several other officers arrived and a shootout ensued.
No other officers were injured, but the report noted that a witness saw Quadros shoot himself in the head.
An autopsy revealed his death was caused by a small-calibre gunshot wound. The weapon was not consistent with the larger calibre weapons used by the RCMP.
Dasna’s autopsy showed he had been shot five times.
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