Teen accused of shooting German tourist makes court appearance

A 16-year-old male charged with shooting a German tourist in the head on a southern Alberta highway appeared in a Cochrane court Tuesday.

Wearing a navy blue sweater, the teen appeared via closed-circuit televisionfrom the jail where he's being held.

He was quiet, only responding "yes" when the judge identified him.

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The purpose of the court appearance was for a plea and for a show-cause hearing to determine whether he should be kept in custody until trial.

But it lasted only a few seconds before the judge adjourned because the teen does not yet have a lawyer to represent him. The teen cannot be identified because of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The 60-year-old victim was driving east on Highway 1A onAug. 2with his wife, son and his son's girlfriend.

He was shot in the head near the Morley rodeo grounds, about 55 kilometres west of Calgary.

The man was flown back to Germany, wherethe bullet lodged in his head was removed. That bullet was returned to Canada to be tested by RCMP forensics experts.

The teen was taken into custody without incident on Aug. 24 on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. The RCMPserious crimes branch laid 14 charges against the teen.

Police haven't talked about a possible motive for the shooting, but they did say the victim and accused didn't know each other.

The teen's next appearance is scheduled forSept. 11.

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