4 Killed & 7 Injured by a 17 year-old student

Canada’s worst mass causality school shooting in a decade

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La Loche, Saskatchewan, Canada – On Friday, January 22, 2016 Canadian’s learned of their worst mass school shooting in a decade (Past Shootings) when a student entered his schools, after killing his two brothers earlier that day, and opened fire with a shotgun killing 2 additional individuals also wounding 7 others.  Police responded to a call of “shots fired” at the remote La Loche Community high School shortly after the lunch hour.  When the police arrived on scene they saw the front door of the school had been shot open and the school was in lockdown.  The shooter was apprehended after a chase by police.

Marie janvier, teacher’s aide

The Police found nine people shot. One person (a female teacher’s aide) died at the scene and another (a male teacher) was taken to the local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  Seven others were wounded and taken to the hospital, with two of the seven in critical condition.

One student said he saw the suspect walk into the building looking “a little stressed.”   When this student asked the alleged shooter what was wrong, the suspect walked back outside and grabbed a gun from his vehicle, according to this student.  He went on to say, “I ran back inside, I told everyone to ‘Run, he has a gun.’ ” He then said, “While the lockdown was happening, you could just hear all these gunshots getting closer, (then) getting distant.”

Adam Wood, Teacher

Police later found the suspect’s two brothers, 17-year-old Dayne Fountaine and 13-year-old Drayden, had been shot and killed in their home before the gunman headed to the Community School.

The killed have been identified as , 35, a teacher at La Loche Community School; Marie Janvier, 21, a teacher’s aide; and brothers Dayne Fontaine, 17, and Drayden Fontaine, 13. They were residents of La Loche.

The alleged Shooter, a 17-year-old boy was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder in Canada’s worst mass shooting in a decade which happened in a school and home in a remote aboriginal community in western Canada.

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Alleged Shooter posting a chilling statement hours before the shooting stating what he did and his intention to kill others at his school.  The social media posting on facebook read “Just killed 2 ppl (text slang for “people”). Bout to shoot ip (up) the school.”  This shooter reportedly chatted a friend about his intentions just before he went to the school with a gun.  According to another student (who released the facebook screen shot) message went on to say “Why?” asked a friend “Why?” but there was no answer.

One student later described the suspect as “a silent guy,” “You barely see him around.  He went for school or would go for bike rides with us at times. He was just a silent quiet guy. He doesn’t talk about anything. He just sits there or walks around with us.”  A family member of a school mate of the shooter said, “My nephew doesn’t know why. He doesn’t understand why a quiet person, who was so happy would do something so horrible.”

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According to Chief Teddy Clark, “Both Clearwater and La Loche, a lot of people are in shock. This is something that you only see on TV most of the time.”    It is reported that Saskatchewan Education and Social Services will be available to provide all necessary crisis support and counselling services to the school and the community.

La Loche is a town of 2,600 people only has an employment rate of 20 percent and has made the news in recent years due to its high suicide rate.  La Loche has long struggled with high rates of addiction, suicide and poverty. In a region that actually has one of the country’s lowest unemployment rates (5.5% versus 7.1% across Canada), in La Loche almost roughly every second adult is unemployed. The suicide rate is three times higher than in the rest of the province.

School Shootings rise to 32 with 30 Dead an 53 injured

Below is a list of the worst mass shooting in Canada since 1975:       

• 2013: Les Racines de vie Montessori, Gatineau, Que.

On April 5, 2013, two men died during a shooting at the school’s daycare. The shooter was identified as Robert Charron. Thirty-eight-year-old Neil Galliou was killed before Charron took his own life. Charron told staff to take the 53 children to safety before he opened fire.

• 2012: University of Alberta, Edmonton

Travis Baumgartner shot four of his co-workers — three fatally — in a robbery on the university campus on June 15, 2012. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced in 2013 to 40 years in prison with no chance of parole.

• 2007: C.W. Jeffries, Toronto

Jordan Manners, 15, died after being shot at his north-end Toronto school, C.W. Jeffries. Manners was a Grade 9 student. Grade 9 student Jordan Manners was shot and killed at his north-end Toronto school in 2007.Two men were charged with first-degree murder in the death. They were referred to only as C.D. and J. W. because they were 17 years old at the time Manners was slain. After two trials, the two men were ultimately found not guilty.

• 2006: Dawson College, Montreal

One woman was killed after a shooting rampage at the Montreal CEGEP on Sept. 13, 2006. Another 19 people were injured — several seriously — in the shooting. The shooter, 25-year-old Kimveer Gill, shot himself after a shootout began with police at the college.

• 2004: Bramalea Secondary School, Brampton, Ont.

A 47-year-old teacher at the school, Aysegul Candir, was shot and killed by her husband, 62-year-old Erhun Candir , in the parking lot of the Brampton, Ont., school in 2004. No students were harmed and it was deemed a domestic dispute by police.  Candir was found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison in 2007.

• 1999: W.R. Myers High School, Taber, Alta.

A 14-year-old boy opened fire inside the W.R. Myers High School in Taber, Alta., on April 28, 1999.  Jason Lang died after being shot at his school in Taber, Alta., in 1999.The shooting left 17-year-old student Jason Lang dead and another student was seriously injured. The shooter, who could not be identified because of his age, was sentenced to three years in secure custody, and another seven years of probation. Tragedy in Taber

• 1992: Concordia University, Montreal

Prof. Valery Fabrikant fired on his colleagues on Aug. 24, 1992. He killed four people and wounded one more.

• 1989: L’Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal

Fourteen female students and a college employee were killed, and another 13 were injured in the worst school shooting in Canada’s history.  Polytechnique massacre 26th anniversary memorialized in Montreal.  On Dec. 6, 1989, Marc Lepine, 25, walked into a classroom in the school with a gun and separated the men and the women, telling the men to leave. He opened fire in the classroom, and then wandered the hallways of the school, committing suicide shortly after his rampage. Polytechique 25 Anniversary 2014-12-06 A ceremony on Mount Royal marks the 25th anniversary of the Polytechnique massacre on Dec. 6, 2014 in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/CP)

• 1978: Sturgeon Creek School, Winnipeg

A 17-year-old student shot and killed a 16-year-old student at the Winnipeg high school on Oct. 19, 1978.

• 1975: Saint Pius X, Ottawa

An 18-year-old student, Robert Poulin, opened fire on his classmates on Oct. 27, 1975, killing two people and wounding four more before killing himself. He had also raped and killed a 17-year-old girl prior to the shooting.

• 1975: Centennial Secondary School, Brampton, Ont.

A 16-year-old student, Michael Slobodian, shot and killed a teacher and wounded another 13 people before killing himself.

Where is our focus…on those acting out violently or is it on the objects they use?  What is your agency, school or university doing to not end up on any future lists. Let Keys’ help.

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