A Nova Scotia killer charged with attempted murder earlier this month in Halifax once tried to stab a correctional officer, threatening to kill the guard when he got out of jail, and tried to slit another inmate’s throat.

But despite his violent track record, Canada allowed him out of prison before his sentence expired.

Robert Harris Lamb, 34, saw his statutory release temporarily revoked for cocaine use just four months before he allegedly tried to shoot another man dead just after dawn on Sept. 5 in Halifax. Paramedics took the victim to hospital with a gunshot wound, but he’s expected to survive.