Shootings in Montreal
MONTREAL — Two gunmen opened fire Wednesday inside downtown Montreal’s 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 wasn’t 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.
"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. "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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