Richard Henry Bain, the suspect for the shooting at Montreal’s the Metropolis on Tuesday night, is being arraigned in a Montreal courthouse, seen in this artist’s courtroom sketch made Sept. 6, 2012. One man died and another was injured outside the theatre where the Parti Québécois victory rally took place.Mike McLaughlin/Reuters
A psychiatric evaluation for the suspected election-night shooter in Quebec has been delayed to allow the suspect to see an English-speaking doctor.
Richard Henry Bain appeared in a Montreal court on Monday to determine whether he was fit to stand trial on multiple charges stemming from the September shooting outside the Parti Québécois victory rally in Montreal.
But the case was delayed because Mr. Bain declined to cooperate with a French-speaking female doctor who was sent to evaluate him while he was detained at Montreal's Pinel Institute.
"She spoke English but she addressed him in French at first and he didn't want to speak to her," Crown prosecutor Éliane Perreault told reporters outside the courtroom.
The incident added another linguistic layer to a case already coloured by language and politics.
After the Sept. 4 shooting, Mr. Bain was shown being led away by police and shouting, "The English are waking up!"
Premier Pauline Marois later characterized the shooting as a politically-motivated attempt on her life. The Parti Québécois leader was giving a speech to supporters inside the downtown Métropolis concert hall when the violence erupted outside.
Earlier this month Mr. Bain was sent for psychiatric testing after a bizarre court appearance. He delivered a lengthy tirade portraying himself as an emissary from Jesus Christ on a mission against "evil separatists."
He is charged with 16 counts including first and second-degree murder in the Sept. 4 shooting that claimed the life of stagehand Denis Blanchette.
In Monday's brief court appearance, Mr. Bain called out to the courtroom that he wanted an investigation into a "bodily assault" against him while he was incarcerated at the Rivière-des-Prairies detention centre in east-end Montreal.
He also shouted, while being escorted in handcuffs and shackles out of the courtroom, "God Bless you all, happy holidays!"
Mr. Bain faces 16 criminal charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, arson and weapons-related charges. He returns to court Jan. 11.