School shooting rocks Saskatchewan community
Questions swirl following deadly spree that killed four in remote town of La Loche
Ashooting spree at a school has shattered the lives of an entire community in northern Saskatchewan.
The RCMP say four people are dead at a school and in the community, and others are being treated in hospital A male suspect is in custody. Acting mayor Kevin Janvier told The Associated Press that his 23-year old daughter Marie, a teacher, was shot dead by the gunman.
He said police told him that the gunman first shot two of his own siblings before killing Janvier’s daughter, Marie.
“He (the gunman) shot two of his brothers at his home and made his way to the school,” Janvier said. “I’m just so sad.” When asked if the victims had any connection to the shooter, the RCMP said they could not comment as the investigation was still ongoing.
Marie was Janvier’s only child. He said he didn’t know if the shooter knew his daughter.
James Janvier, Marie’s uncle, saw his brother Kevin shortly after the incident.
“He didn’t say anything. He just looked down,” James Janvier told the Star.
"There’s a shotgun! There’s a shotgun! They were just yelling." GR. 10 STUDENT DESCRIBES SCENE
Sandy Herman, a friend of Marie’s, described her as “kind-hearted, always smiling.
“Everybody knew her, everybody loved her,” Herman said.
A13-year-old student, whose family gave the Star permission to speak to him, watched as his tutor was shot in front of him.
The witness said he was in math class at around 1 p.m. when several shots rang out at the school.
“I got scared and I got down to, like, behind the desk,” he said.
The teacher told students to go against the wall, but as the children obeyed, someone fired into the classroom and hit the tutor in the back, according to the witness. He said he didn’t see the shooter and that whoever it was ran away after wounding the tutor.
The teacher unlocked a storage room and told the class of about 15 children to stay inside, said the student.
“We dragged the one that got shot in there, too,” he said. He said the woman was bleeding but remained conscious and was later taken to the hospital.
“She kept on talking. She said she was going to die.”
The witness said the students waited in the storage room until the authorities arrived about two hours later, and weren’t allowed to leave until the police had ensured the rest of the school was secure.
Norma Janvier, a community coordinator at the school, was a colleague of victim Marie Janvier.
“I’m still in a little bit of shock. I can’t even think clearly right now,” Norma Janvier told the Star. The two were not closely related.
A Grade 10 student was just returning from lunch when he said his friends ran past him urging him to get out.
“There’s a shotgun! There’s a shot- gun! They were just yelling to me. And then I was hearing those shots, too, so of course I started running,” said Noel Desjarlais-Thomas, 16.
Desjarlais-Thomas said he believed one of his friends might be among the dead.
“I saw him fall down. That’s when I started running,” he said. “I didn’t want to look back.” “My kids were friends with one of the boys that was killed. It’s affecting all of us,” said Sherry Piche, who lives in Clearwater. Piche knew the family of two of the victims, as well as the alleged shooter.
“My heart hurts for the family, both families,” she said.
The RCMP were notified of the shooting shortly after 1 p.m. and a male was taken into custody before 2 p.m. Police are investigating two crime scenes, one at Dene Crescent and one at the La Loche Community School in the Dene high school building.
Both the high school and a nearby elementary school were in lockdown for most of the evening.
Tanisha Lemaigre,19, said her cousin was shot in the arm and is now in hospital. She said she and her cousin are close.
“My grandma keeps having anxiety attacks from what happened . . . . It’s sad day,” Lemaigre told the Star Friday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his condolences from Switzerland.
“Obviously this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Trudeau said. “All of us across this country’s hearts are going out to the families and to the whole community.”
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall issued a statement expressing shock and sorrow at what he called “the horrific events.” U.S. Ambassador Bruce Heyman expressed his condolences to the victims and their families.
“We have experienced similar tragedies far too often in the United States and understand all too well the heartache and sadness that result from such a horrific event,” Heyman said in a statement.