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One of the victims of the wild shooting in Dollard-des-Ormeaux that injured three people on Sunday says he doesn’t know if the bullet that came within two centimetres of his spine came from the assailant who tried to steal his family’s car or from the Montreal police.
Abdel-Rahman Abdallah, 18, was seated in a comfortable chair in his family’s home Wednesday afternoon shortly after having been released from a hospital. He was shot once in the back during what he believes was an attempted carjacking. In an interview with The Gazette, he described his father Houssam Abdallah, 52, as a hero for acting as a shield to prevent him from suffering more harm.
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While he spoke he mentioned that his father, who was shot five times, was about to undergo another operation Wednesday to treat one of his legs.
“Now we have a story in common. When we’re older we can both sit down — me as a father and him as a grandfather — and have a laugh. But for now it’s very stressful and I’m very glad he’s stable,” the son said.
“On Sunday my parents came back from camping (on a lake) and I went to help them (unload the family’s car which was parked outside the family’s home east of where Davignon St. intersects de Salaberry Blvd. and across the street from a park). I saw the suspect running toward us with a gun. Before we had the chance to answer him he saw the cops running toward him and he started shooting at them. After the first shot that he fired he started running. That is when I felt something hit me,” Abdallah said. “I had bags in my hand so I turned around and tossed them. Then I saw my father on the (pavement).”
Abdallah said his father realized what was happening and shielded him from being shot again. The assailant, who had demanded their car keys, was also shot.
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“At this point we don’t know. They’re still doing an investigation on the bullets. We haven’t found out if it was the suspect that shot us or if it was the cops,” Abdallah said when asked if he had been told who shot him and his father.
“I am in shock but I am grateful. He risked his own life to save me and my sister’s (Jana). For the rest of my life I will owe him my life.”
According to media reports, the assailant was visiting someone he knew, near the Abdallah family home, when they got into an argument. Someone called 911 and reported that the assailant was armed. It appears Montreal police officers arrived as the assailant was approaching Abdallah and his family.
The shooting is being investigated by Quebec’s office of independent investigations (BEI) and witnesses have said they heard more than 30 shots fired.
Abdallah said Wednesday he has no recollection of how many shots were fired.
“After I heard the first couple of shots and I got hit everything like died down. I couldn’t hear much. I was mostly focused on keeping my dad awake because he was in and out of consciousness.
“My mom made sure he stayed awake.”
The son also said he was able to visit his father for about 20 minutes before he was discharged from the hospital they were both taken to.
“He was able to laugh. But sometimes when he laughed he started coughing.” Abdallah said. “After everything that happened he was able to cheer up.”
The alleged assailant, Nackael Hickey, 26, made his first appearance at the Montreal courthouse on Tuesday via a videoconference.
He was charged on Tuesday with a total of 15 Criminal Code offences, including four counts of attempting to murder four people. He was not charged with attempting to murder the father and son. He was also charged with carrying out an armed robbery on Sunday and with pointing a firearm at the victim of the armed robbery.
Hickey was scheduled to have another court date on Wednesday.
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