By Canadian Press

Desmond inquiry: soldier’s application for firearms licence didn’t mention his PTSD

Mar 23, 2021 | 10:49 AM

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — A former firearms official told an inquiry today that Lionel Desmond was not fully truthful when he applied to have his firearms licence renewed in 2014, two years before the former soldier fatally shot three family members and himself.

Joe Roper, a former area firearms officer with New Brunswick’s Public Safety Department, told the Nova Scotia inquiry he was asked to review Desmond’s application after one of his references indicated Desmond had post-traumatic stress disorder — a fact he did not disclose on his application.

Roper testified that the renewal application included a question asking if the firearms owner had been diagnosed or treated for depression, alcohol, drug or substance abuse, behavioural or emotional problems.

The former officer said when he contacted Desmond to talk about the omission, Desmond said he didn’t check that box on the form because PTSD was not among the conditions listed — an explanation Roper accepted.

Roper said that during his investigation, he sent a medical assessment form to a psychiatrist who had been treating Desmond, then an infantryman based at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in central New Brunswick.

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The inquiry was presented with a form filled out by Dr. Vinod Joshi, who checked a box indicating he had no concerns that Desmond might pose a threat to himself or others.

Roper told the inquiry he later spoke to Joshi by phone, at which time the psychiatrist confirmed he had no problem with Desmond possessing firearms because his patient was taking medications, showed no signs of psychosis and had never mentioned self-harm or violent thoughts.

The former firearms officer said that when he spoke with Desmond, the soldier told him his wife had helped him fill out the form and she had advised him that disclosing his PTSD diagnosis was not necessary.

Roper later approved the renewal for Desmond’s possession and acquisition licence.

On Jan. 3, 2017, Desmond bought a rifle and later that day shot his 31-year-old wife, Shanna, their 10-year-daughter, Aaliyah, and his mother, Brenda, 52, before killing himself in their home in Upper Big Tracadie, N.S. 

In the months and years that followed, friends and relatives complained that Desmond’s attempts to seek help for his mental disorder led him nowhere. 

The inquiry is examining whether Desmond had access to mental health and domestic violence services, and whether he should have been able to buy a rifle. 

It is also investigating whether the health-care and social services providers he dealt with were trained to recognize occupational stress injuries or domestic violence. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2021.

The Canadian Press