Richard Bain murder trial: 'Grace of God, the gun jammed'
Montreal police officer who arrested gunman tells jury about conversation with suspect
As a Montreal police officer pinned Richard Bain to the pavement outside a nightclub where two people had just been shot, Bain told the officer "I just wanted to shoot over their heads," a jury heard Thursday.
Const. Mathieu Brassard told the jury in Bain's first-degree murder trial that the defendant went on to say "I got one. It jammed."
Brassard was the officer who formally arrested Bain and escorted him through booking.
Bain is accused of fatally shooting lighting technician Denis Blanchette outside the Parti Québécois election-night victory rally in Montreal on Sept. 4, 2012.
He also faces three charges of attempted murder and charges of arson and possession of an incendiary device for the attack outside the Metropolis club where then-leader Pauline Marois was celebrating her win.
Brassard told the jury that Bain looked at him and asked "Are you the one that put me down?"
When Brassard answered no, he recalled the suspect replying either "He's got guts" or "He's got nuts." Brassard wasn't sure exactly what was said.
When Bain was later in the backseat of a police cruiser, Brassard said he heard him say: "Your security was not good. My gun jammed. Grace of God, the gun jammed."
Cameraman describes chaotic aftermath
On Wednesday, cameraman Martin Bouffard told the jury at the Montreal courthouse that he started to roll on the scene after he saw police officers running towards the back of the Metropolis nightclub with their guns drawn.
"I turned the corner. There's a huge fire in the back. It's pretty chaotic over there," Bouffard said during his testimony.
The trial began last Thursday and is expected to last between six and eight weeks.
- Day 4: 'Thank you, smile away,' surviving victim Dave Courage says to accused Richard Bain
- Day 3: 'I heard a scream, and I saw the blood': Stagehand tells jury he thought it was a joke
- Day 2: Bain upset he couldn't vote on day of PQ election night shooting, court hears
- Day 1: 'The English are waking up': Prosecution aims to prove political motive in Bain trial