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He was carrying two semi-automatic weapons and had another two firearms in his SUV, the jury heard. Bain had modified the magazines to hold 30 bullets instead of five, the Crown said.

But as the attacker strode toward the back entrance of the Metropolis shortly before midnight, wearing a black balaclava and a blue bathrobe over his shorts and polo shirt, it was not a political family that was about to be torn apart.

Gathered around the back steps, waiting for the PQ celebration to end so they could begin their tear-down work, were about a dozen stagehands, none of whom were associated with the PQ, Galiatsatos pointed out. Blanchette, he said, was “a sound and light guy.”

The jury heard that Bain opened fire on the “unsuspecting victims” at close range. His first bullet passed through Blanchette and seriously injured fellow stagehand Dave Courage. Then the CZ 858 tactical semi-automatic rifle jammed.

Bain doused a back entrance with gasoline from a jerry can and lit it using road flares, the jury heard. Photos were entered into evidence showing the charred back door and landing.

Bain then fled toward his GMC Yukon, parked in an apartment building lot behind the Metropolis, as undercover Sûreté du Québec officers assigned to protect the event gave chase, the jury heard. Bain dropped his rifle and drew a 9 mm pistol, pointing it at one of the officers.

Before he could get off a shot, he was tackled, Galiatsatos said. As he was led away in handcuffs, he shouted at police and media, “The English are waking up.”