SQ denies blame in fatal Metropolis attack

A police officer looks towards a black SUV that has had its contents removed at a crime scene outside the Metropolis in Montreal on Wednesday, September 5, 2012. One person was killed and another injured after a man fired shots during PQ Leader Pauline Marois' victory speech Tuesday evening. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

MONTREAL - Provincial police are denying that there were any lapses in their policing of a post-electoral Parti Quebecois event at the Metropolis Tuesday night that led to a fatal shooting.

However the Surete du Quebec’s account doesn’t appear to jibe with other eyewitness reports which suggest that there was inadequate security at the back door of the building, where one man was killed and another injured by an armed attacker.

Actor Yves Desgagnes, who was on-stage as host of the event, said earlier that the back door had been left unguarded and that one of the two men who were shot was actually inside the building.

However the SQ said that the action was all kept at the exterior of the facility

“There were armed officers on the other side of that door, there's no way the suspect could have made it inside the building,” said SQ representative Guy Lapointe.

Lapointe said that if the shooting victim was inside, it was because he had been brought in for medical attention.

“One of the officers by the door pulled in an injured person inside the building in order to administer first aid,” explained Lapointe.

Security experts also wonder why Marois was allowed to return to the microphone, not once, but twice, despite the nearby presence of the shooter.

One security expert said that it was surely a breach of protocol.

“When you have this kind of event, you follow the rules, and evacuate, that's it that's all,” said Jean-Christophe Boitard, a French Army-trained security expert, who provides security in high-risk countries like Columbia.

Boitard said that security must be ready to face all possible scenarios.

“Sometime you might have to face a lone wolf or an organization, so yes you have to improve security and rely on professionals,” said Boitard.

Another security expert echoed those views.

“I’m pretty sure these guys were thinking, ‘ok we got confirmation of one shooter down, but that doesn't mean a second one or a third one,’” said Claude Sarrazin, of Sirco Security, who coordinated private security during the campaign.

What likely happened is that Marois overruled her security detail, according to Sarrazin.

“That's the difficulty of dealing with a politician, the end result is you're dealing with your boss,” said Sarrazin.

There is a consensus that the attack will prompt politicians to beef up security at future public events.

Meanwhile it was reported that the second victim, 27-year-old Dave Courage, was hit by the same bullet as the fatality victim.

Courage spoke to TVA reporter Claude Poirier on the phone from hospital Friday and recounted how he lost sensation in his leg after being hit in the buttocks, but that he now feels fortunate to have survived the incident.

Medical authorities say that Courage is expected to heal completely from his injury.

Richard Henry Bain faces 16 charges, including one for first degree murder, and three charges of attempted murder. He will reappear in court on October 11.