Today in History: Sask. teen sentenced as an adult for La Loche school shooting

On May 8, 2018, Randan Dakota Fontaine was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years for killing four and injuring seven others during a shooting at the La Loche high school.

Fontaine, who was two weeks shy of 18-years-old at the time of the killing, was sentenced as an adult. He later exhausted multiple avenues of appeal in a bid to be sentenced as a youth — culminating in 2020, when the Supreme Court denied his appeal.

Fontaine’s January 2016 killing spree shook the country, and left deep scars in the northern Dene community of La Loche.

At trial, court heard that Fontaine’s first victims were two of his cousins. He killed them at home before heading to the high school where he opened fire, killing a teacher and a teacher’s aide and wounding seven other staff and students.

Court heard Fontaine researched guns and did an online search the night before the shooting that asked, “What does it feel like to kill someone?”

He had also been playing video games that night with brothers Dayne Fontaine, 17, and Drayden Fontaine, 13 — his two cousins who lived across the street.

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The morning of the shooting, he looked up websites about the Columbine High School shooting in the United States.

After going home for lunch, he went to his cousins’ house. He got a .22-calibre rifle and called Dayne into the basement.

That’s when Fontaine opened fire. Dayne ran upstairs. Fontaine kept firing, hitting Dayne in the back of the head, and Dayne fell to the floor.

Court heard Dayne tried to cover his head and told his killer he didn’t want to die. He was shot again — a total of 11 times.

The younger brother, Drayden, was outside looking for a ride back to school. He followed Fontaine back into the house and was shot in the head.

Fontaine next returned to school, armed with a shotgun and ammunition in his pocket. He fired at students in the main entrance foyer.

He walked into the office and shot 36-year-old teacher Adam Wood, who died in hospital.

As staff and students ran screaming and hid in classrooms and under desks, Fontaine shot and killed Marie Janvier, a 21-year-old teacher’s aide, who was born and raised in the community.

Soon after, RCMP found Fontaine hiding in a school washroom.

He came out and told officers, “I’m the shooter.”

Fontaine’s legislated review for full parole is expected to take place in December 2025, according to the Parole Board of Canada.

-With Canadian Press files