Close X
Sunday, January 12, 2025
ADVT 
National

Mall shooter lied about fears to justify cold-blooded killing, prosecutor says

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Nov, 2014 11:43 AM

    TORONTO — The man accused of a terrifying, deadly attack in a crowded downtown mall concocted a story about living in terror as a way to justify what was a cold-blooded killing, his first-degree murder trial heard Wednesday.

    In cross-examination, prosecutor John Cisorio heaped scorn on evidence by Christopher Husbands that he opened fire in a blind panic on two men he believed were out to kill him.

    "A lot of these symptoms that you are chalking up to hypervigilance and paranoia are also consistent with your lifestyle choices," Cisorio said.

    Husbands, 25, was adamant his fears were real.

    He has pleaded not guilty to the planned killing of two men at the landmark Eaton Centre on June 2, 2012, in a shooting that also injured five people.

    The Crown alleges Husbands gunned down Nixon Nirmalendran, 22, and a friend in deliberate retaliation for an almost fatal stabbing earlier that year.

    "On June 2, you took the law into your own hands, didn't you?" Cisorio said.

    "That's how you might interpret it but I felt my life was in danger," Husbands said on his third day on the witness stand. "I did not take the law into my own hands to go kill anyone."

    Cisorio pointed out that Husbands was walking around with a fully loaded gun when he went to the Eaton Centre despite his professed paranoia and fear of crowds.

    The mall visit was at his girlfriend's urging, Husbands said, and the friend's firearm made him feel safer because he knew Nirmalendran and the others who had attacked him carried guns.

    "If you had the gun, you weren't going to throw it at them, were you?" Cisorio said.

    "Obviously not."

    "The gun is there to be used."

    "It's there to protect myself."

    Husbands, a drug dealer, maintains he suffered flashbacks, became paranoid, and developed a fear of crowds as a result of the attack in February 2012.

    Cisorio suggested the accused brazenly went about his frequently illegal business in crowded places and his fears weren't real.

    At the time of the mall shooting, Husbands was on bail for convictions related to obstruction and sexually assaulting the mother of his now six-year-old daughter. He breached them all.

    "I didn't say I was going out to break my bail but it's something I ended up doing," he admitted.

    "Nothing stops Mr. Husbands, right?" Cisorio said.

    "I don't know how to answer that question."

    Cisorio said Husbands lied to police after he turned himself in following the mall shooting in an effort to obscure a link between the February stabbing attack and the June shooting.

    The witness said he was only trying to make clear he was not interested in talking to the officers, who quickly formed an opinion that the mall shooting was related to the stabbing.

    "I wasn't going to change their mind," said Husbands, neatly dressed in jacket and tie.

    He again said he had no idea what motivated the February assault but said it was not because he had slept with the mother of one of his attackers.

    The trial continues Thursday.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Freight Train Plunges Into River After Derailing On Quebec's North Shore

    Freight Train Plunges Into River After Derailing On Quebec's North Shore
    SEPT-ILES, Que. — Quebec provincial police say a freight train with one person aboard has plunged into a river after derailing on the province's North Shore.

    Freight Train Plunges Into River After Derailing On Quebec's North Shore

    Khadr argues U.S. judge hearing his appeal may be committing a federal crime

    Khadr argues U.S. judge hearing his appeal may be committing a federal crime
    TORONTO — The judge presiding over Omar Khadr's challenge to his conviction by U.S. military commission may himself be committing a federal crime by maintaining a law practice, according to allegations contained in new court documents.

    Khadr argues U.S. judge hearing his appeal may be committing a federal crime

    Lawyers slam Chris Alexander comments on murder case still before the courts

    Lawyers slam Chris Alexander comments on murder case still before the courts
    TORONTO — Criminal defence lawyers are dismayed that Immigration Minister Chris Alexander publicly branded a man charged with killing his wife a murderer before his trial.

    Lawyers slam Chris Alexander comments on murder case still before the courts

    North Vancouver Braces For More Rain Following Flash Floods Earlier In The Week

    North Vancouver Braces For More Rain Following Flash Floods Earlier In The Week
    VANCOUVER — Another rainfall warning has been issued for Metro Vancouver, just two days after torrential rains caused flooding and evacuations in the District of North Vancouver.

    North Vancouver Braces For More Rain Following Flash Floods Earlier In The Week

    Ottawa says new Montreal bridge will not be named after Maurice Richard

    Ottawa says new Montreal bridge will not be named after Maurice Richard
    QUEBEC — A new bridge in Montreal will not bear the name of hockey great Maurice Richard.

    Ottawa says new Montreal bridge will not be named after Maurice Richard

    B.C. Government Changes Course On Ferry Cuts

    B.C. Government Changes Course On Ferry Cuts
    VICTORIA - In just 24 hours, British Columbia's government went from supporting to sinking a proposal from BC Ferries to stop rising fares by cutting routes and closing terminals in Nanaimo and Horseshoe Bay.

    B.C. Government Changes Course On Ferry Cuts