From the
CBC:
At least four people were reported dead following a shooting spree Wednesday afternoon at a Montreal college.
Emergency officials help an injured woman outside Dawson College in downtown Montreal.
At least 16 other people were reported injured.
The "college" in question is Dawson College, in downtown Montreal. I've used quotation marks since Dawson is technically a CEGEP - a type of school that exists only in Quebec, and (effectively) delivers the last year of high school and an equivalent to the first year of University. This particular one is the largest in Quebec, with a student body population of slightly over 10,000.
Why this rates a diary on the flip side...
As for why this is a "thing," to use the parlance of the West Wing - because this type of incident
isn't supposed to happen here. Gun dealths, for the most part, are something we as Canadians arn't used to accepting. Looking at some stats, in 2005 Montreal had 48 homicides. Looking at the most recent report, we just went through a little less than 10% of them in this one afternoon. Before today, the last high-school shooting in all of Canada was in Alberta, in 1999 - and that one was the first in 20 years. No one really knows what to do, as no one's used to responding to this type of event - or even a non-school shooting, for that matter.
As I write this, I'm sitting in a office at a University a few blocks from Dawson. Most people are in a sort of a daze, not really knowing what to do. Dawson is within walking distance; many students here attended the school as recently as last year, and lots have friends and relatives that were there today. Walking anywhere in the open areas, you can overhear students on their cell phones, calling their families and friends to see what's going on. Some are wondering "What happened?" Some are wondering "Why here, why today?" Some are wondering how they'll get home, as one of the major subway lines was shut down as a response.
From a political point of view, this comes at an interesting time. The Conservatives (in power) have been working to reconect with Quebec, so they'll have to seriously respond in some way. What will really spice things up, howeverm is if it turns out that the shooters had rifles (as opposed to handguns), as some reports say.
As it stands now, few people in Canada legally have handguns. There has been a requirement to register all handguns since the 1930s, and the ability to own one has been seriously restricted since the 1970s. Even if you can round up the paperwork to purchase a handgun, it's almost impossble to get a license to carry that handgun - pretty much the only people who can get them are armoured car drivers and wilderness trippers.
What is new, however, is that in recent years the government has started a program to register all guns, including long guns (which were previously exempt). There has been a huge outcry over this from rural Canadians, and as a result, it's in the process of being scrapped...or was, before today. Will it still be? Who knows.
It's starting to calm down here - most people seem to have been in contact with their significant others, and have made sure they're alive. What today will mean for the future, however; that, no on can predict.