A TEENAGER was shot in the head in front of his mother during a tussle with a court constable in Canada.

Steven Bertrand was at Maniwaki courthouse, in Quebec, on Wednesday for a sentencing hearing, when he reportedly got into an argument with the special constable.

6 A teen was shot after attacking a policeman in a Canadian courtroom Credit: Facebook

His cousin, Christopher Lacaille, said Bertrand had wanted to pop out for a cigarette - but when the guards refused, it is claimed he became “violent and aggressive”.

Lacaille began filming as the situation rapidly escalated with Bertrand grappled with the guards.

The 18-year-old was surrounded by half a dozen court constables as he continued to struggle.

He was pushed into a nearby room, where the action continued out of shot, but his mum Julie Bertrand watched on in horror.

6 The officer reportedly shot the teen in the head after he attacked him with his baton Credit: Facebook

Suddenly she began screaming and Lacaille ran round to the entrance of the other room in time to see a constable shoot Bertrand.

Julie and Lacaille began screamingly and crying hysterically as their relative lay bleeding on the ground.

Lacaille told Le Soleil: “It's not an experience to live. I cannot stop thinking about that.”

Bureau of Independent Investigation (EIB) officers, who are investigating the shooting, say the 18-year-old had managed to seize the special constable's telescopic baton and hit him on the head.

6 A row had reportedly erupted after the teen demanded to go outside for a cigarette Credit: Facebook

The constable had then taken out his gun and shot the teen in the head, it was reported.

Bertrand was taken to hospital where he is said to be in a stable condition.

Incredibly, his family say the bullet narrowly missed his eye and brain and he is expected to recover.

6 Bertrand was taken to hospital where he is reportedly in a stable condition Credit: Facebook

6 His mum Julie Bertrand, left, shared pictures of her boy on Facebook Credit: Facebook

6 The footage of the shooting rapidly went viral after Lacaille posted it on Facebook yesterday Credit: Facebook

Lacaille said, in French, on Facebook: ''Steven is fine he was touched close to the eye. The bullet has ricocheted up to the neck, but it is fine.

“He will get by. No problem to the brain, everything is beautiful! Thank god.”

The constable who was hit in the head with the baton is also in a stable condition, according to the EIB.

The footage of the shooting rapidly went viral after Lacaille posted it on Facebook yesterday, with more than 1.4million times, 36,000 shares and thousands of comments.

The EIB said the reaction to the video has been so strong, that several viewers had made threats to the special constable after watching it.

On Thursday morning, the Minister of Justice Stéphanie Vallée, called for restraint.

MOST READ IN WORLD NEWS COV-ER & OUT Lockdown-free Sweden 'on brink of BEATING Covid after achieving herd immunity' GRINCHES Mum reveals HUGE Xmas gift haul for daughter - but some parents brand kid 'spoilt' NONE THE WEISER Inside of this house is larger than life… CAN you see yourself living here? OUT OF THIS WORLD Man transforms into 'alien' after having nose REMOVED & splitting tongue TAKING ITS TOLL Sweden says high virus death toll 'down to elderly surviving flu season' DOWN THE PAN Model jailed for spate of masked robberies as her life ‘went down the toilet’ 'TOUGH S**T' Lawyer refuses to scrap 'offensive' LGOPNR number plate.. can you work it out? RAPE HORROR Two men arrested for ‘raping girl, 9, & gran, 73, in horrific sex attacks’ RAPE HELL Mum gang-raped in front of husband & kids by armed robbers at own home in India RAPE HELL Schoolgirl, 16, ‘gang-raped, killed and dumped to slowly die on building site’

She said: “Threats, words of this nature can lead to accusations.

“We must be reserved not only in what we say in everyday life, but also in our comments on social networks.

“We can be shocked by the images we see.

“One can be shocked by a situation, but to answer that way, to respond with violence, no matter in what situation, it can have a boomerang effect.

“I find it totally unacceptable to make such comments on social media.”

It's not yet clear what new charges Betrand will face when he recovers from his gunshot.

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.