While in line to get my driver’s license renewed, a young woman came in with this scared look on her face; she was trembling and dialling on her cell. She said that there was a shooting at Dawson College, downtown Montreal.
On my way home, I heard on the radio and now on basically every local channels that about 2 hours ago (at around 12:30 – 13:00) a white man in his twenties, wearing a black trench coat walked in the Atrium (cafeteria) of the college and randomly started shooting.
From different reports, and eyewitnesses, there might have been two gunmen. We don’t know anything for sure, but the description given by most present, is of this white guy, dressed in black with a mohawk. They reported that the police shot him, but everything is so chaotic at the moment that we don't know for sure if he was he alone. So far the news officially reported 6 people in critical condition, 2 in serious and 4 in stable. They haven’t confirm the number of dead yet, if any.
Just in case, concerned families should call: 514.280.2880 if they haven’t heard from their kids or loved one who do attend Dawson.
Dawson, is a Cegep (cegep, in Québec, is where we go after high-school which represents the 12th and 13th grade), after cegep we go to university. Dawson is one of the few English colleges we have in Montreal. It has a student body of 10,000.
I grew up in that area of town, and to see students running out of the building in tears, running for cover, and all over the place, gave me goose bumps! WTF is happening with the world? This is completely crazy!
This is so reminding me of December 6th, 1989 when a crazed gunman, Marc Lépine, entered l’École Polytechnique de Montréal, and shot women. He killed 14 women that evening and wounded just as many. Or when Valery Fabrikant, mechanical eng. teacher at Concordia Univeristy opened fired on his colleagues, killing 4 of them, on August 24, 1992.
WTF is wrong with people? Kids taking guns and shooting people, just like Columbine in 1999, we are reaching a seriously fucked up point in time… I just don’t get it… what a mess!
This is the type of things you hear about on the news, and have this twisted feeling of guilt almost that “at least” it’s not “here”, it’s happening somewhere else, but lately the “not here” is starting to feel like it’s getting darn close… What is up with that?
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UPDATE: Here are some (personal) pictures of the shooter: Kimveer Gill. Sickening.
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UPDATE 2: One young girl, 18 years old, Anastasia De Sousa died yesterday. And 20 others were wounded. Read more about it here, or here.
My thoughts are with the De Sousa family and friends.
15 comments:
It's frightening. I grew up in Montreal. I'm also reminded of the Toope murders in Beaconsfield in 1995, proving that these types of atrocities don't just happen elsewhere... there is insanity everywhere. I feel so helpless. What can we do?
faraz: Let me welcome you to my blog Faraz (love your Calvin picture!). It is very frightening. The Toope murders was down the street to where I live at the moment. I know that violence is everywhere, but each time it hits close to home I remember that it does happen... I know the feeling. We can only strive to do our best and not hurt others...
I'm freaked!
I went to Dawson, and so did my sis.
Between Dawson and a couple of jobs at Alexis-Nihon and Westmount Square, I had spent almost 5 years going there every day...
I know that area like the back of my hand. To see footage of places I've been hundreds of times in my life with police and blood and signs of shootings freaks me right out!!!
I saw that news... and instantly wondered what you were doing/thinking.
The world is so scary. :-(
Me too, saw that news and instantly thought of you, wondering if you were safe.
It is such a sad, sad world we are living in, but yet there are a lot of happy moments too...cherish them!
Have you seen the photos they've released of the presumed gunman?????
It has sent chills up and down my spine...
jason67: I thought of both of you yesterday who went to Dawson. It is freaky to see footage of such a panic in an area that we know, is even more freaky! And then to see that crazed looking guy is frigthening!
dvcmm: I think this is f*ching crazy and senseless...
mimaw: Trust me I do cherish the good times, but I find that the scary, sad ones are more predominant at times... And to think that today I'll be in that area of town, at a client, argh!
It IS terrifying!! My thoughts and prayers are out for you guys.
I remember Columbine like it was yesterday (it's in my neck of the woods, so-to-speak).
The world just seems to get scarier and scarier, doesn't it?
I was thinking about you too when I saw this. It is so sad that the world has come to this.
Thanks for the warm welcome. The Toope murderers were my classmates in high school. The scary part was that none of us ever expected that they were capable of such horror. It's probably the same with this Dawson shooter; I'm sure no one who knew him thought he was actually capable of committing such horrendous deeds. And that's the scariest part; what can we do to prevent these cases before they happen, when we can never be sure if someone is really evil or simply talks evil?
I've been listening to CJAD (talk radio) all day, and I find that media coverage like this gets hypnotizing after awhile.
Just like 9/11 when I was glued to the TV the entire next day (I had the day off, at the time).
We're appalled yet weirdly fascinated, like when people slow down in their cars to see traffic accidents...
So scary and so sad. I'm glad you are ok.
atm: It is getting worst I fear. Thanks for the thoughts!
pg: It is sad, but I guess it didn't turn out as bad as it could have had.
faraz: From experience (as well) I know that we never think that someone we know could do something so terrible, and yet... And let's not forget about the really messed up ones who don't even talk about anything and "surprise" us!
jason67: That's the part I really despise, yes we want to know about what happened and at the same time I feel like a "voyeur" almost and then I get fed up of hearing about it. Weird conflicting feelings...
-r-: Thank you. Sad and disturbing and yet so real at the same time...
I don't get it, either. Some kid was arrested in the states for planning another Columbine like shooting at his high school.
I really don't get it. I will never understand how a miserable person finds it necessary to kill innocent people before they kill themselves.
Or why they don't just get counseling.
Or divorce their wife instead of killing her and the children.
Etc.
:(
when I was teaching, we had more "lock down" drills in case of a shooting instead of fire drills. Sad.
paisley: I don't think any of us really get it. It is a pretty sad reflection of our times when you have more "lock down" then fire drills, sad and oh! so scary!
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