Gun carnage
Maniac storms school in Canada town Mayor’s daughter among four shot dead
TERROR GRIPPED a tiny Canadian town Friday after a gunman attacked a rural high school, leaving four people dead and at least two more critically injured, officials said.
Gunfire erupted first at a private home in the remote village of La Loche in northern Saskatchewan, and then shots ripped through the air shortly after 1 p.m. at the La Loche Community School, where a 23-yearold teacher — the daughter of the acting mayor — was among those killed.
“Obviously this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during an emergency news conference in Davos, Switzerland. “All of us, across this country, hearts are going out to the families and to the whole community.”
A suspect was in custody, he said, adding that the situation was under control.
The Royal Canadian Police said the shooter was male — police did not clarify his age — and was taken into custody outside the school at 1:47 p.m., and a gun was seized.
The town’s acting mayor, Kevin Janvier, told The Associated Press his daughter Marie, a teacher, was shot dead by the gunman. The assailant first shot two siblings, police told Janvier, before laying siege on the school.
“He shot two of his brothers at his home and made his way to the school,” he said. “I’m just so sad.”
Marie was Janvier’s only child. He said he didn’t know if the shooter knew his daughter.
It was unclear who the fourth victim was.
A 10th grader in the school during the shooting told The Saskatoon Star Phoenix he heard six or seven gunshots.
“Run, bro, run!”Noel Desjarlais-Thomas, 16, recalled his friends saying to him as they fled. “There’s a shotgun! There’s a shotgun! They were just yelling to me. And then I was hearing those shots, too, so of course I started running.”
Desjarlais-Thomas forwarded a screen shot to The Canadian Press of a chilling exchange on social media between the suspect and friends. The back-and-forth occurred after the shooting of the brothers and before the rampage at the school.
“Just killed 2 ppl,” wrote the alleged attacker. “Bout to shoot ip the school.”
“Why?” asked a friend. “Why?” But there was no response. The town’s elementary school was also put on lockdown, according to the school’s Facebook page.
The tiny lakeside village, home to roughly 3,000 mostly aboriginal members of the Clearwater River Dene Nation, lies nearly 530 miles north of the Saskatchewan capital of Regina.
“My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community,” Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said.
La Loche Community School caters to about 900 students, splitting grade school age children and high schoolers in two buildings, according to the school’s Facebook page.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Supt. Maureen Levy confirmed that one person was in custody, but declined to provide any other details about the ongoing investigation.