Shooting victim credits video game for ability to identify gun

Editor’s note: the following story contains details of violence that some readers may find offensive

After suffering a broken jaw from a well-landed punch, a man narrowly avoided getting shot in the head by turning his head at just the right moment.

That was among the evidence heard when Kain Fiddler appeared Tuesday morning at Prince Albert Provincial Court and testified as the Crown’s first witness for a case that dates back to March 2023.

Facing multiple weapons charges, including attempted murder, assault, and unlawful confinement are Colten Lafond and Gage Pratt. A third person, April Abbott, is also facing weapons and confinement-related charges and is alleged to have brought the assault rifle into the house where the shooting occurred.

Fiddler testified on the morning of the incident, he was at a house on Branion Drive drinking with the accused. However, what started as a friendly social gathering, turned tense when Fiddler began getting questioned about his 17-year-old “baby mama.”

Soon after, he claims Lafond instructed Abbott to retrieve a gun from the car and when he had the gun in hand, Lafond then allegedly pointed it at Fiddler’s face.

“He was threatening to kill me,” Fiddler recalled.

Anticipating something was going happen, Fiddler explained he armed himself with a pair of scissors and after knocking the raised gun to the roof, where it fired, then proceeded to fight with Lafond and stab him multiple times.

It was during this struggle that Pratt allegedly came up behind Fiddler and punching him in the jaw before grabbing the gun and sticking the barrel into the back of Fiddler’s head.

Fiddler said he turned his head, which the bullet grazed. He said he wrestled with the two men and a third unidentified man before making his way to the back door and escaping.

Fiddler, who was not wearing shoes and ran through the snow, found help at a neighbour’s house and called an ambulance.

When asked by Crown lawyer Kristen Hubbard to describe the gun, Fiddler said it was about the size of his forearm. He was also asked how he specifically knew it was an M-16 – 22 LR assault rifle with no stock.

“I play Call of Duty a lot,” he replied.

Fiddler’s knowledge of the gun used was later brought up again when he was cross-examined by Lafond’s lawyer Loree Richardson. He further explained the game is very detailed, and he also denied personally owning or having a gun license.

Fiddler, who acknowledged leaving out certain details when he spoke to police, confirmed for Richardson he was only able to identify Lafond after looking at his Facebook page, and also acknowledged his memory was a bit blurry on a few specific details.

“I just remember who shot me, who tried to shoot me,” he said.

At the time of the incident, Fiddler said he was 6/10 with respect to intoxication and admitted to still being about a 2/10 and concussed when he gave a statement to police about 12 hours later.

Both Pratt’s lawyer Michelle Caron and Abbott’s lawyer Chris Koban both further questioned Fiddler’s memory of the events. Fiddler insisted he knew who was behind him.

“I am 100 per cent sure it was Gage,” he said, dismissing a suggestion that Pratt wasn’t in the house.

Caron, who raised the possibility the gun actually belonged to Fiddler and that it was the unidentified stranger who actually shot him, repeatedly asked Fiddler how it could be that he could look back and see Pratt holding a gun, all while being in the midst of a heated struggle and his head buried in Lafond’s chest area.

Appearing somewhat defensive, Fiddler demonstrated with his hand and body how he was able to feel the butt of a gun pressed against his head and how the angle allowed him to see who had their finger on the trigger.

Koban, who noted Fiddler testified to another woman being in the house, asked if it was possible she was the one who brought the gun in, instead of Abbott.

“No it isn’t,” Fiddler replied.

About a week after the shooting incident, Lafond was arrested after a standoff with police.

Also testifying on Tuesday were multiple police witnesses and Crown lawyer Kristen Hubbard indicated she would need an extra day before closing her case.