School shooting:

Woman killed at Montreal College

One woman was killed and up to twenty people were wounded last week when a gunman opened fire on students at a further education college in Montreal, Canada's second largest city. The gunman also died.

The precise number of casualties was unclear in the panic that ensued, but police indicated that eight of the wounded were critically injured. Although police initially suggested the gunman had killed himself, Yvan DeLorme, the city's police director, said at a news conference later that "based on current information, the suspect was killed by police".

Witnesses reported seeing a tall man with a Mohican haircut and black trenchcoat, perhaps in his twenties, walking into the central building of Dawson College and opening fire with an automatic weapon.

The gunman was seen by witnesses entering the main atrium, already firing at students, and then proceeding to the adjacent cafeteria, where students were eating and socialising.

Dozens of students and staff members poured from the building in all directions running for cover in two shopping centres on the other side of the street. Some of them emerged with bloody clothes. Other students as well as teachers ducked into classrooms and huddled behind doors barricaded with furniture. Like firecracker

One student, Daniel Mightley, told CNN he was leaving the building when the shooting began. "He fired one shot and everyone just stopped. It was like a firecracker. I was kind of stunned. I asked myself if he was actually holding a real gun or was it some kind of practical joke. I realised that if I didn't move, I could lose my life. There was no emotion on his face whatsoever. He was walking towards us very slowly and he was just shooting.

I saw one person get shot. "Another student, Devansh Smir Vastava, said he heard about 20 shots as the gunman, dressed in military fatigues, made his way through the building. " We all ran upstairs. There were cops firing. It was so crazy. I was terrified. The guy was shooting at people randomly. He didn't care he was just shooting at everybody. I just got out."

Derick Osei, 19, said he was walking down the stairs when he saw a man begin shooting. "I ran up to the third floor and I looked down and he was still shooting," Mr Osei said. "He was hiding behind the vending machines and he came out with a gun and started pointing and pointed at me. So I ran up the stairs. I saw a girl get shot in the leg."

A SWAT team, backed by police dog units, was dispatched to the school, going floor by floor to look for victims. People were also evacuated from two nearby shopping centres.

Dawson College sits on a 12-acre site in a downtown area crowded with colleges and universities, including the campuses of McGill University and Concordia University. Dawson is known for the ethnic variety of the about 10,000 students who recently resumed studies after the summer break. Most of those who attend the college are between 16 and 19 years old.

(The Independent)