Dawson College - School Shooting

School Shooting

On September 13, 2006, a shooting occurred at Dawson College. Kimveer Gill, a 25 year-old resident of Laval, Quebec, entered the school armed with a variety of guns. Gill began firing on students outside of the entrance and again in the Atrium, before committing suicide after being shot by a police officer. Some witnesses reported to having seen a second gunman, a claim later proven incorrect by local police force. There was one other death, 18-year-old female student Anastasia Rebecca de Sousa, nineteen more were injured, eight critically.

Gill was dressed in a black trenchcoat, military clothes and combat boots, resulting in comparisons with Columbine High School killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. He was a member of gothmetal.net where he is seen holding guns and favored the video game depicting the Columbine High School shootings. A similar profile has been depicted on the website www.vampirefreaks.com, though it was taken down by the website administrators for unknown reasons. His profile name on that website was fatality666. Around 10:41 that morning, Gill made a final entry on the Vampirefreaks and listed his mood as "No mood." He wrote "Whiskey in the morning, mmmmmm, mmmmmmmmm, good!!"

The media developed a theory that Gill's motive was to copycat the Columbine shootings. Students said Gill was calm and shot randomly.

The college was closed until Friday, September 15, when teachers and support staff returned. Students were given access to the campus again on Monday, September 18, and classes resumed the following day, on Tuesday, September 19.

Other schools in Canada, including the four universities in Montreal, provided grief counseling for their students. Some had also put up special messages regarding this incident.