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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Clerk Guilty Of Trying To Kill Prime Minister

Compiled From Wire Services

A 35-year-old convenience store clerk was found guilty Friday - but not criminally responsible because of his mental condition - of trying to murder Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

The verdict by Judge Paul Belanger means Andre Dallaire will remain at a group home outside Ottawa until a five-member panel assesses his mental condition and decides on further treatment.

Dallaire climbed a wall outside the prime minister’s official residence in Ottawa. Armed with a pocket knife, he broke in through a side door and encountered Chretien’s wife, Aline, in a hallway outside her bedroom.

He was arrested without resistance and told police he intended to kill the prime minister because of the results of an Oct. 30 referendum in Quebec, narrowly lost by separatists seeking independence for the mostly French-speaking province.