In what appears to be a repeat of the Columbine shootings, Dawson College has suffered a similar tragedy. The College located in Montreal, Quebec was home to 25-year-old Kimveer Gill until he killed a young woman and injured 19 in a shooting spree. The incident took place on September 13, the same day that Gill was shot by a police bullet. The Canadian police maintain that the bullet was non-fatal, and Gill died of a self-inflicted wound.
Gill’s motivation for committing this crime is unknown. ‘There is no racist connotation whatsoever’hellip;This is not related…to terrorism,’ said Yvan Delorme, Montreal’s Chief of Police. However, Gill’s profile presents a confounding case. Gill, a self-proclaimed Goth, maintained a blog on vampirefreaks.com. He referred to himself as Trench, and called himself the ‘Angel of Death.’ He wrote that his ambition was to die in a hail of bullets.
Gill entered the school cafeteria with three weapons and fired random shots. He was dressed in military boots, a trench coat and had a Mohawk hair cut. According to local resident, Michele Bismuth, ‘there are two shopping indoor malls and they were evacuated…cell telephones were not functioning. Before the shooting the city is always animated – people going for lunch, and it is always so peaceful.’ The college remains closed until Monday for further investigation.
The young woman who died was recognized as 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa. According to Montreal General Hospital spokeswoman, Sheila Moore, six of the victims are in a critical condition in their intensive care unit. She has said that two are in a ‘very critical condition.’
In response to the shootings, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that they are ‘a cowardly and senseless act of violence ‘hellip; our primary concern right now is to ensure the safety and recovery of all those who were injured during this tragedy.’
Vampirefreaks.com owners have taken down Gill’s web page. In response to the incident, they have released a statement saying ‘[Gill] was actually a member of other sites such as myspace, yet somehow our site is the only one being named. Many people do not understand our scene and would like to point the finger at us, but the Goth scene is a very friendly, nurturing, non-violent community.’
The last known Canadian college shooting took place in 1989, when 25-year-old Marc Lepine killed 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique. The Montreal resident then killed himself. Gun laws were tightened since then. However, the current conservative party wants to cancel the current gun registry. The registry keeps a record of every firearm owner in Canada. It has been criticized for being expensive and bureaucratic. Mr. Harper said that he will not roll back any of the tightened gun laws.
‘
