16-year-old Montreal student charged with attempting to kill teacher denied bail

A 16-year-old high school student accused of trying to kill a teacher will remain in detention after being denied bail by a Montreal youth court judge Monday.

The teen faces four charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault and carrying a concealed weapon, following the Dec. 9 stabbing of Maxime Canuel, 41, an art teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood.

The youth has been in detention since his arrest on the day of the incident. He appeared in court Monday morning, dressed in a dark hoodie. He was silent, while in the audience, his mother held her head in her hands and cried.

A preliminary hearing on the charges is set for Feb. 1. The accused, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, could be sentenced as an adult if he is found guilty.

Tiago Múrias, the lawyer representing the teen, said the boy's family is disappointed by Judge Annie Savard's decision to deny him bail, although they understand it.

"It's very hard for them. Nobody was expecting something like this to happen, and the family has been really affected by all the events," said Múrias outside the courtroom after the hearing.

The evidence presented at the hearing is under a publication ban.

Montreal police said a student walked into the teacher's classroom around 10 a.m. and, in front of other students, stabbed Canuel twice in the upper body before running off.

The school on Villeray Street went into lockdown. The student was arrested about an hour later.

The wounds to the teacher's chest and shoulder were initially believed to be life-threatening, but he recovered following surgery, the English Montreal School Board said.

The stabbing rocked people in Saint-Michel, where less than two months earlier, 16-year-old Thomas Trudel was shot and killed in an unprovoked attack.