The Supreme Court of Canada has decided it will not hear the sentencing appeal of a student who killed four people and injured seven others in a mass shooting in La Loche, Sask., in 2016.
The ruling means the shooter has no further avenues of appeal and a publication ban on his name is no longer in place.
Here is a timeline of events:
Jan. 22, 2016, before 1 p.m.
Two teen brothers are gunned down in a home on Dene Crescent. There is a chilling exchange between friends chatting online. “Just killed 2 ppl,” a youth writes to his friends. “Bout to shoot ip the school.”
Jan. 22, 2016, shortly after 1 p.m.
Police begin receiving calls from frantic students and teachers who say there is a shooter in the high school.
Students, just returning from lunch, flee for their lives. Some run for the doors, others hide in classrooms and in gym dressing rooms.
Jan. 22, 2016, between 1:08 p.m. and 1:10 p.m.
Police arrive at the school. Officers see an outside door has been shot. They see a shooter inside and chase him deeper into the school.
Jan. 22, 2016, 1:15 p.m.
Police challenge the shooter and he surrenders without negotiation or incident. Officers find nine people shot.
Teacher’s aide Marie Janvier, 21, dies at the school. Teacher Adam Wood, 35, is rushed to hospital, but cannot be saved.
Jan. 22, 2016, after 1:15 p.m.
Police receive a call about a body in a house. They rush to the home and find Drayden Fontaine, 13, and Dayne Fontaine, 17, dead.
Jan. 25, 2016
Randan Dakota Fontaine, two weeks shy of his 18th birthday, makes his first court appearance.
He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder.
Jan. 29, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits La Loche. He assures the community that his government will offer support for years to come.
Feb. 26, 2016
Students return to the high school after changes are made, including added security and counsellors.
Oct. 28, 2016
Feb. 23, 2018
McIvor rules that Fontaine will be sentenced as an adult. She tells a courtroom in La Loche that a youth sentence would not be appropriate because of the profound impact the shooting has had on the community.
May 8, 2018
McIvor hands down a sentence of life with no chance of parole for 10 years, calling the shootings “senseless” and “coldly horrific.”
She criticizes a lack of counselling in the community. “They have been abandoned,” she says. “They have been let down.”
June 5, 2018
Fox says he will appeal the sentencing decision.
April 11, 2019
Fox tells the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal that his client was an isolated teenager crying out for help that never came. He says Randan Fontaine will not get the psychological help he needs in a maximum-security prison.
Oct. 31, 2019
In a 2-1 decision, the Appeal Court dismisses the appeal. It says it could find no errors in the judge’s decision that a youth sentence was not sufficient to hold the shooter accountable.
Dec. 3, 2019
Fox says he plans to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.
April 16, 2020
The Supreme Court decides not to grant Fontaine leave to appeal his sentence.
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