Eight witnesses are expected to testify at the preliminary inquiry of the man charged with firing shots at a Jewish school in Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce last year, including an undercover agent who was placed in the suspect’s jail cell following his arrest.
A prosecutor revealed the detail Tuesday during a hearing at the Montreal courthouse for Abdirazak Mahdi Ahmed, 21, of Les Cedres. He has been detained since his arrest in May. He is charged with intentionally discharging a firearm on Nov. 12 at a location knowing that a person might be inside. He is also charged with theft and receiving stolen vehicles, and committing mischief on Nov. 9.
Defence lawyer Xavier Desrosiers told the court his client wants a trial before a jury.
On Nov. 12 around 5 a.m., gunshots were heard outside the Yeshiva Gedola of Montreal school on Deacon Rd., near Van Horne Ave. A suspect was spotted leaving the scene in a getaway vehicle. When they arrived, police saw the impacts of firearm projectiles on the school door and shell casings were found on the ground.
That shooting occurred four days after shots were fired at the same school and at the Talmud Torah Elementary School on St-Kevin Ave. Both are in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough.
The shootings took place just weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the beginning of Israel’s retaliation.
Mahdi Ahmed is scheduled to have a preliminary inquiry over the course of two days in June next year. On Tuesday, Quebec Court Judge Martin Chalifour was informed that eight witnesses in all will be called to testify. A preliminary inquiry is used to determine if there is enough evidence in a case to proceed with a trial.
“An infiltration agent met with the accused in a cell in an effort to obtain confessions,” said the prosecutor while going over the list of witnesses.
He did not mention whether the agent succeeded. He said the agent’s testimony will be “succinct.”
The prosecutor also said that footage from surveillance cameras is expected to be shown when the case goes to trial.