Shooting in Montréal college, 13 September

Montréal, Québec

[At 18:00 Montréal time rumour has it this this may have something to
do youth gangs.]

Two gunmen opened fire Wednesday inside Montreal's anglophone Dawson
College, 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 by police
and one had taken his own life. Police spokesman Sgt. Lafrénière
confirmed one gunman was "neutralised" - killed.

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.

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 Lépine
shot and killed 14 women and wounded several others at the École
Polytechnique during a shooting rampage that ended when he took his own
life.

In an interview on CBC Newsworld, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles
Duceppe said he found out about the shootings shortly after 1 p.m.
"It's tough to understand, that shouldn't 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.

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