Richard Bain murder trial: Dave Courage sarcastically thanks accused
Technician who survived 2012 PQ election victory shooting testifies on Day 4 of trial, staring down accused
Dave Courage, who survived the Sept. 4, 2012, shooting outside the Metropolis nightclub,stared directly into the eyes of the manaccused of shooting him throughouthis short but intensetestimony Tuesday.
Courage started off his testimony staring at the ground, but at one point he looked over toRichard Bain and said,sarcastically, "Thank you. Smile away."
Before he turned to address Bain directly, Courage had beenoutlining how the bullet had hit his friend, lighting technician Denis Blanchette, before piercing his hip.
"The bullet that the gentleman fired went through my friend's chest, and it entered my hip, penetrating mycoccyx,rupturing my rectum and spiralling my life out of control."
He tried to set us on fire. He tried to burn us.- Dave Courage, Crownwitness and shootingsurvivor
Bain, who is accused of Blanchette'sfirst-degree murderandCourage's attempted murder, watched intentlyas Courage continued.
Courage visibly struggled through the seven minutes he was in the witness box, taking deep breaths and pausing several times.
"I was fraternizing with my friends, Denisand others, outside the Metropolis. Denis wanted to smoke a cigarette.Itold him to wait a second. And then five secondslater Iheard the gunshot, and Ifelt an immense amount of pain, and Ifell down," Courage told the jury.
"The ambulance took us away after he tried to set us on fire. He tried to burn us."
He described feeling pain in his hip, not knowing what it was, then beingpulled inside the nightclub by his friendsand seeing a fireball.
The Crown prosecutor asked Courage if he saw the gunman that night.
Courage replied while lookingat Bain, saying, "No, I see him now."
When pressed about what else he remembered from that night, Courage said he remembered being taken out of the ambulanceand hearing someone ask, "If I was the dead one."
Bainfaces six charges altogether, including three counts of attempted murder, as well as arson and possession of an incendiary device.
Bainhas pleaded not guilty to all charges.
'I didn't even have time to say hello'
Earlier on Tuesday, the court heard from several technicians who said they had been waiting outside the nightclubthat night, standing near their colleagues, Courage and Blanchette.
Franois Blouin, another technician, told the jury he was waiting on the club's back stairs with his co-workers when the shooter approached them.
"It came out of the blue," Blouin told the jury.
"Denis Blanchette arrived, and I didn't even have time to say hello to him, and then this individual ... shot a bullet," a witnesstold the jury on Tuesdayin the Richard Bain murder trial.
"MadameMarois...was screaming 'What's going on?'"-FranoisBlouin, Crown's witness and technician
When Crown prosecutor Dennis Galiatsatosasked his witness to describe the gunman's expression, Blouinanswered:"an expression of disgust."
Blouin said after the shot was fired, he crouched down and escapedintothe club.
"At one point, I ended up face to face with MadameMaroiswho was screaming'What's going on?'"
"It was a strange night," he told the court.
Witnesses describe blood, screams
Bain, 65,alsofaces three countsof attempted murder, as well asarson and possession of an incendiary devicefor the attack.
On Monday,the court heard from several other stagehandswho testified they were outside with Blanchette when a gunman approached.
They told the jury about hearing a loud bang, then seeing a man with a gun.The stagehands recalled how they fled after they saw blood and heard screams.
Many of them described the gunman as a white malewho was wearing a ski mask.
The trial began last Thursday and is expected to take between six and eight weeks.
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