CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, September 13, 2006
MONTREAL Two gunmen opened fire Wednesday inside downtown
Montreals Dawson College leaving wounding 16 people and sending
hundreds of screaming and terrified students and staff running into
the streets and seeking cover.
The hospital authority reported 12 victims were admitted to
hospital six in critical condition, two serious and four in
stable condition.
Reports said the two gunman were dead one had been shot and one
had taken his own life. Police spokesman Sgt. Ian Lafrenieree
confirmed one gunman was "neutralized."
SWAT teams and police canine units are going through the buildings
looking for victims, CNN reported.
"Most of the students have exited the college grounds," Sgt.
Giuseppe Boccardi told the network.
Outside, a state of panic quickly emerged with frightened students
giving wildly varying accounts of what was happening inside. There
were several reports saying there was one gunman, while others said
there were as many as four.
Television images showed police pulling a bloodied person out of
the building, while ambulances gathered as medical workers rushed
stretchers through the streets.
Helicopters are buzzing overhead and emergency vehicles continued
to arrive an hour after the first reports of shots.
One student told a radio station she saw two people who had been
shot, with one person hit in the neck.
The ambulance department confirmed three people have been
transported to hospital in critical condition and there are several
more wounded inside the facility, which has about 10,000 full-and
part-time students.
Live television pictures showed students continuing to flee from
all exits long after the first shots were reported. Some of the
students ran away from the buildings holding their hands in the
air.
Several people were seen being taken out on stretchers. On the
front steps of the building, blood was seen on the ground near a
police vehicle.
Witnesses said it appeared one gunman was chasing someone and at
least 20 shots were fired.
Michel Boyer, 19, told CTV he saw a masked gunman wearing black
from head to toe and wearing a mask was seen with a black rifle or
shotgun. He said he heard 20 shots and ran for shelter in a
classroom.
"I think I'm very lucky to be alive and that is wasn't injured,"
Boyer said.
"It was like something from a movie, it is the most scary thing
that has ever happened to me."
Another report said a white gunman with a Mohawk haircut and
dressed in black opened fire in the building.
The shootings began around 1:00 p.m. Eastern time and reportedly
took place in the cafeteria, on the third floor of the
school.
Alexandra Garcia was in class when she heard shots close by to the
classroom.
"We were hearing shots repeatedly...we were all stressed," she told
CBC Newsworld. Her and the other students barricaded themselves
inside the classroom by putting a desk in front of the door and she
hid under her desk until a police officer arrived to the room
"I was just hoping the shooter wasnt going to come in and shoot
us."
Student Caroline Stephens, was in class at the time when someone
burst into the classroom telling them to get out because there was
a gunman in the school. The teacher did not take the warning
seriously, said Stephens, because the teacher thought it was a joke
at first. Upon hearing the ensuing commotion of people fleeing the
building, Stephens and her classmates evacuated. She described
seeing a student with a gunshot wound to the stomach outside the
school being helped by bystanders.
The school is located in a densely populated area of the city with
stores and offices surrounding it.
It is not the first time there has been a shooting in a Montreal
college. In December 1989, Marc Lepine shot and killed 14 women and
wounded several others at Ecole Polytechnique during a shooting
rampage that ended when he took his own life.
In an interview on CBC Newsworld, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said
he found out about the shootings shortly after 1 p.m.
"Its tough to understand, that shouldnt happen in a civilized
society," he said.
Duceppe said while the motive for the assault is unclear he
expressed concern about the amount of gun violence on television
and said perhaps it influences some people to commit violent acts.
"We have to look at more than what happened (in Montreal), how come
those things happen?" asked Duceppe.
Family Hotlines:
Information hotlines were set up by police for families to call for
Dawson College shooting info.
(514) 280-2880; (514) 280-2806
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