Montreal

Richard Bain murder trial: 'His gun jammed. He could've shot us all,' jury hears

Standing at the back door of the Metropolis club after the shooting, a shaken police officer was overheard saying, "His gun jammed, he could’ve shot us all," a police witness recalls.

Court hears officer was visibly shaken after having a gun turned on him

A police officer is seen covering the suspect's mouth with a ski mask, after he shouted "The English are waking up!" The still image was taken from video, filmed by Martin Bouffard after the election night shooting. (CBC)

Standing at the back door of the Metropolis club after the 2012 election-night shooting, a shaken provincial police officer was overheard saying, "His gun jammed. He could've shot us all," the jury learned Tuesday at the Richard Bain murder trial.

Montreal police Const. Martin Duvert testified that when he arrived on the scene, it was "mayhem" on the radio waves.

He said he spotted a plainclothes provincial police officer, who exclaimed out loud to no one in particular that he could've been shot.

"He was afraid. He was afraid for his life," Duvert recounted.

Bain is accused of shooting and killing lighting technician Denis Blanchette on Sept. 4, 2012 outside the downtown Montreal concert venue where the Parti Québécois had been celebrating its election win.

'A lot of firearms' found at remote fishing lodge 

The court heard that the day following the shooting, provincial police drove roughly two hours from Montreal to La Conception, Que., where they searched a fishing lodge.

"It was a remote area," said Alain Lemieux, an explosives specialist with the Sûreté du Québec.

The dirt road leading to the house was too narrow for the large police truck, so Lemieux said he had to walk part of the way.

"I thought the place was beautiful," he testified.

Lemieux and his colleague searched through one main chalet, a much smaller cabin nearby and two tool sheds. Their job was to make sure there were no explosives or traps inside, Lemieux told the jury.

While they found "a lot of firearms and a lot of ammunition," he said they found no explosives.

In addition to first-degree murder, Bain also faces three counts of attempted murder, as well as charges of arson and possession of an incendiary device.

The trial began on June 9 and is expected to take until the end of July.