Canadian community left reeling after gunman opened fire at a school and a home, killing four people.
Shootings at home, school that killed 4 ‘a part of changing times’ for Canadians
TORONTO — Police on Saturday charged a 17-yearold boy with four counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder in a mass shooting at a school and home in an aboriginal community in western Canada, officials said.
Police said the suspect cannot be named under Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent Grant St. Germaine said nine people were shot at the school, two fatally — a teacher and a teacher’s aide.
He said seven people wounded in Friday’s shooting at the school are hospitalized.
Police said two brothers — Dayne Fountaine, 17, and Drayden, 13 — were shot dead in a home before the gunman headed to the grade 7 through 12 La Loche Community School. Police responded to a call of shots fired at the school shortly after the lunch hour.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commanding Officer Brenda Butterworth-Carr said that when officers arrived at the school they saw the front door had been shot open. They entered the school, spotted the suspect and gave chase before apprehending him. He is due in court this week.
Police said they were not aware of a motive and declined to say what type of gun he used.
The school is in the remote Dene aboriginal community of La Loche in Saskatchewan province. La Loche is a community of less than 3,000.
Residents lit candles and placed flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the school.
“This is a significant event for Canada,” St. Germaine said. “It’s a huge impact on the community of La Loche. It’s a part of
changing times. We are seeing more violence.”
Shootings at schools or on university campuses are rare in Canada.
However, the country’s bloodiest mass shooting occurred Dec. 6, 1989, at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, when Marc Lepine entered a college classroom at the engineering school, separated the men from the women, told the men to leave and opened fire, killing 14 women before killing himself.
The educational assistant killed at the Saskatchewan school was identified as
Marie Janvier, 21.
Deegan Park, her boyfriend of three years, said he would have given up the rest of his life just to spend another year with her.
“I loved her, I really did,” said Park, who remembered her smile and how she would blush when she was happy.
Kevin Janvier said his daughter was an only child. “I’m just so sad,” he said.
Ashton Lemaigre, a teacher at the school and friend of Marie Janvier, said Janvier worked as a teacher’s aide in his classroom.
He said she was kind and
patient with children and planned to get her teaching degree someday.
“The kids loved having her around,” Lemaigre said. “They would just come running to her. And she was just a friend to everybody.”
A second victim was identified as 35-year-old Adam Wood, a new teacher at the school. His family in Ontario issued a statement describing him as an adventurer with a passion for life who made people laugh until their stomachs hurt.
“Adam had just begun his teaching career in La Loche last September and was enjoying his time,” his family said. “He was always up for a good challenge and lived each day joyously.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the first reports of shots being fired at the school came in around 1 p.m. Friday, and parents and residents were warned to stay away. A nearby elementary school was placed on lockdown as a precaution.
“Words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events ... in La Loche. My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community,” said Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.
Wall planned to visit the community Sunday and promised to provide crisis support and counseling services.
Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said the shooting Friday was the worst tragedy to ever hit the community. The Dene are an aboriginal group who inhabit the northern parts of Canada.
“It’s not something you ever imagine happening here. The whole community, province and country has been affected, and we will all go into mourning,” said Cameron, who attended the La Loche school’s graduation ceremony in the past. “Right now we’re just in a state of shock and disbelief.”