TORONTO — A jury has found a man accused in the 2012 shooting at Toronto’s Eaton Centre mall guilty of second-degree murder.
Christopher Husbands has also been found guilty of five counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
Husbands had admitted to fatally shooting Nixon Nirmalendran and Ahmed Hassan and wounding five others in June 2012, but had pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
His defence lawyers had argued that Husbands should be found not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder.
They had said the post-traumatic stress disorder he developed after a vicious beating and stabbing months before the mall shooting triggered an intense emotional reaction when he saw two of his assailants in the Eaton Centre food court.
The Crown, meanwhile, had argued that Husbands opened fire at the mall because he was determined to get revenge on the men who had attacked him months earlier.
The 25-year-old — who was also found guilty on the charge of discharge of firearm — stood in the prisoner’s box with his hands clasped and shook his head as the jury delivered their unanimous verdict.
More to come…
Source:: canada.com
