Sixteen charges, including first-degree murder, for suspect in PQ-event shooting

MONTREAL – The man accused in the deadly shooting at a Parti Quebecois gathering has appeared at the Montreal courthouse and been slapped with 16 criminal charges.

The charges against Richard Henry Bain include first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and arson.

He appeared in person in a high security courtroom behind protective glass.

Bain appeared calm and alert, wearing a white T-shirt to his court appearance.

He was represented by a legal aid lawyer. Bain’s case returns to court on Oct. 11.

Bain, who turns 62 this weekend, arrived at the courthouse in the back seat of a police vehicle as media waited outside.

The only images of him circulating so far had been from the turbulent scene outside the Metropolis club, after one man was killed and another was injured during a political celebration. An older photo of him standing next to Celine Dion has also been published in the local newspaper in Mont-Tremblant, Que., where he lives.

Little else is known about the fishing-camp owner and what possible motivations police might have identified for the shooting on election night.

A man burst into the back of the club and shot two people, killing a stage technician. A work colleague says the freelance technician, Denis Blanchette, had replaced her earlier in the day because she wanted to vote and pick up her daughter at school.

Police say the man then lit a fire in back of the club before the suspect was tackled to the ground. A pair of weapons were confiscated — a long gun and a handgun. As he was being whisked to the police vehicle Bain shouted, “The English have awoken.”

There has been some figer-pointing since the tragedy, with some blaming PQ for stoking linguistic anger, others blaming Anglo media for stirring anti-PQ hatred, and some calling for stricter gun control.

However, the overwhelming reaction — from politicians, public personalities, and a friend of Blanchette’s who spoke at a vigil in Montreal last night — has been a call for unity and for avoiding to draw political lessons from the tragedy.