École Polytechnique massacre

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The École Polytechnique Massacre, also known as the Montreal Massacre, occurred on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec. A 25 year-old man, Marc Lépine, entered the campus and carried out a shooting rampage in which 14 women were killed and 4 men and 10 women were wounded, before turning the rifle on himself and committing suicide.^[1]

Contents 1 The massacre 2 Suicide Letter 3 Women killed 4 Marc Lépine 5 Aftermath 6 Search for a rationale 7 Long-term impact 8 Commemoration 8.1 Controversy 9 References in popular culture 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

[edit] The massacre

Sometime after 4 p.m. on December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine arrived at the École Polytechnique building, an engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal, armed with a semi-automatic rifle and a hunting knife.^[1] He had purchased the Sturm, Ruger brand rifle, Mini-14 model, on November 21, 1989 in a Montreal hunting store, telling the clerk that he was going to use it to hunt small game.^[2] Lépine was familiar with the layout of the building since he had been in and around the École Polytechnique at least seven times in the weeks leading up to the event.

Lépine sat for a time in the office of the registrar on the second floor, seated at the entrance. He was seen rummaging through a plastic bag and did not speak to anyone, even when a staff member asked if she could help him. He left the office, and was subsequently seen in other parts of the building before entering a second floor mechanical engineering class of about 60 students at about 5:10 p.m.^[1]
After approaching the student giving a presentation, he asked everyone to stop all action and ordered the women and men to opposite sides of the classroom. No one moved at first, believing it was a joke until he fired a shot into the ceiling.^[3]

Lépine then separated the nine women from the approximately fifty men and told the men to leave, which they did.^[4] He asked the remaining women whether they knew why they were there, and when one student replied “no,” he answered: “I am fighting feminism.” One of the students, Nathalie Provost, said, "Look, we are just women studying engineering, not necessarily feminists ready to march on the streets to shout we are against men, just students intent on leading a normal life." Lépine responded, "You're women, you're going to be engineers. You're all a bunch of feminists. I hate feminists." Lépine then opened fire on the students from left to right, killing six and wounding three others, including Provost.^[1][5] Before leaving the room, he wrote the word "shit" twice on a student project.^[4]

Lépine continued into the second floor corridor and wounded three students before entering another room and attempting twice to shoot a female student. His weapon failed to fire, so he entered the emergency staircase where he was seen reloading his gun by another student. He returned to the room he had just left, but the students had locked the door and Lépine failed to unlock it with three shots fired into the door. Moving along the corridor he shot at others, wounding one, before moving towards the financial services office, where he shot and killed a woman through a door window as she moved away after locking the door.^[1]

Next, he went down to the first floor cafeteria, in which about 100 people were gathered. The crowd scattered after he fired shots, killing a woman standing near the kitchens and wounding another student. Entering an unlocked storage area at the end of the cafeteria, he shot and killed two women there. Lépine told a male student and a female student to come out from hiding under a table; they complied and were not shot.^[1]

Lépine then walked up an escalator to the third floor where he shot and wounded one female and two male students in the corridor. He entered another classroom and told the three students giving a presentation to "get out," shooting and wounding Maryse Leclair who was also standing on the low platform at the front of the classroom. He fired on students in the front row and then killed two students who were trying to escape the room. Other students dived under their desks, and Lépine moved towards women students, firing on and wounding three students and killing one. He changed the magazine in his weapon, and moved to the front of the class, shooting in all directions. At this point, the wounded Leclair asked for help and, after unsheathing his hunting knife, Lépine stabbed her three times, killing her. He took off his cap, wrapped his coat around his rifle, exclaimed "Oh, shit," and then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head, 20 minutes after having begun his attack. About 60 bullets remained in the boxes he had carried with him. He had killed 14 women in total (12 engineering students, 1 nursing student and one employee of the university) and injured 14 other people including four men.^[1]

[edit] Suicide Letter

Marc Lépine's inside jacket pocket contained a suicide letter and two letters to friends, all dated the day of the massacre.^[1] Some details from the suicide letter were revealed by the police two days after the event,^[6][7] but the full text was not disclosed. A year after the attacks, Marc Lépine's three page statement was leaked to journalist and feminist Francine Pelletier. It contained a list of 19 Québec women whom Lépine apparently wished to kill because he considered them feminists.^[8] The list included Pelletier herself, as well as a union leader, a politician, a TV personality and six police officers who had come to Lépine's attention because they were on a volleyball team together.^[9] The letter (without the list of women) was subsequently published in the La Presse newspaper, where Pelletier was a columnist at the time.^[10] Lépine wrote that he considered himself rational and that he blamed feminists for ruining his life. He outlined his reasons for the attack including his anger at the women's movement itself and related social changes through which women were seizing the "advantages" of men.^[11] He also mentioned Denis Lortie, who killed three government employees and wounded 13 others in an armed attack on the National Assembly of Quebec in May 1984.^[12] The original French letter is available, as well as an English translation.

[edit] Women killed

• Geneviève Bergeron (b. 1968), civil engineering student.
• Hélène Colgan (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
• Nathalie Croteau (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
• Barbara Daigneault (b. 1967) mechanical engineering student.
• Anne-Marie Edward (b. 1968), chemical engineering student.
• Maud Haviernick (b. 1960), materials engineering student.
• Maryse Laganière (b. 1964), budget clerk in the École Polytechnique's finance department.
• Maryse Leclair (b. 1966), materials engineering student.
• Anne-Marie Lemay (b. 1967), mechanical engineering student.
• Sonia Pelletier (b. 1961), mechanical engineering student.
• Michèle Richard (b. 1968), materials engineering student.
• Annie St-Arneault (b. 1966), mechanical engineering student.
• Annie Turcotte (b. 1969), materials engineering student.
• Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (b. 1958), nursing student.

[edit] Marc Lépine

Main article: Marc Lépine

Marc Lépine was born Gamil Gharbi to a French-Canadian mother and an Algerian father. Marc's father did not consider women to be the equal of men and was physically and verbally abusive to his wife and son, discouraging tenderness between mother and child.^[13] When Gamil was seven his parents separated and he lived with his mother for the rest of his childhood. He attempted to join the Canadian Army during the winter of 1980-1, but was rejected because he was "anti-social", according to his suicide letter. Gharbi changed his name legally to Marc Lépine in 1982.^[14] The brief biography of Marc Lépine that police released the day after the killings described him as intelligent but troubled.^[5] He began a pre-university CEGEP (college) program in pure sciences in 1982 but switched to a 3-year vocational program in electronics technology after his first year. He abandoned this program in his final semester without explanation.^[15][16][17] Lépine applied to the École Polytechnique in 1986 and was accepted providing he complete two additional CEGEP courses. He completed one of them in the winter of 1989.^[1][18]

[edit] Aftermath

Having briefed reporters outside, Montreal Police director of public relations Pierre Leclair entered the building and found his daughter Maryse's stabbed body.^[19][20]
The massacre profoundly shocked citizens across Canada. The Québec government and the Montréal city government declared three days of mourning.^[19]

A joint funeral for nine of the women was held at Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica on December 11, 1989, and was attended by Canadian Governor-General Jeanne Sauvé, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Quebec premier Robert Bourassa and Montreal mayor Jean Doré and thousands of other mourners.^[20]
Male students and staff expressed feelings of remorse for not having attempted to prevent the shootings,^[4] but Nathalie Provost, one of the survivors, said that she felt that nothing could have been done to prevent the tragedy, and that her fellow students should not feel guilty.^[21]
An extensive police investigation into Marc Lépine and the killings took place.^[22] The 98-page police report was not made public but a copy was given to the coroner who used it as a source in her investigation.^[1][23]
Government and justice officials feared that extensive public discussion would cause pain to the families and lead to antifeminist violence.^[5] As a result, a public inquiry was not held^[24] and Marc Lépine's suicide letter was not released. The media unsuccessfully brought an access to information case to compel the police to release the letter.^[25] Beside the media, academics, women's organizations and family members of the victims also protested the lack of a public inquiry and paucity of information released.^[4][5][26]

[edit] Search for a rationale

The gender of Marc Lépine's victims as well as his oral statements during the massacre and suicide note quickly led to the event being seen as an anti-feminist attack and as an example of the wider issue of violence against women.^[12] His mother later wondered if the attack was not directed at her, as some would have considered her a feminist as she was a single, working mother.^[13]
Others, including television journalist Barbara Frum questioned why people insisted on "diminishing" the tragedy by "suggesting that it was an act against just one group?"^[27]
As predicted by Marc Lépine in his suicide letter,^[11] some saw the event as the isolated act of a madman.^[12][5] A psychiatrist interviewed Lépine's family and friends and examined his writings as part of the police investigation. He noted that Marc Lépine defined suicide as his primary motivation, and that he chose a specific suicide strategy: killing one’s self after killing others (multiple homicide/suicide strategy). This strategy is known to be a characteristic of individuals who have a serious personality disorder.^[1] Other psychiatrists emphasized the traumatic events of his childhood, suggesting that the blows he received may have caused brain damage. Another hypothesis was that Lépine was psychotic, having lost touch with reality as he tried to erase the memories of a brutal (and absent) father, while at the same time unconsciously identifying with a violent manhood that dominates women. A different theory was that Lépine's experiences of abuse as a child led him to feel victimized as he faced losses and rejections in his later life.^[28]
Others developed a more social analysis, seeing Lépine's actions as the result of societal changes leading to increasing poverty, powerlessness and individual isolation.^[29] Noting Lépine's interest in violent action films, some suggested that increasing violence in the media and in society may have influenced his actions.^[4]
Following the shootings at Dawson College in September 2006, Globe and Mail columnist Jan Wong controversially suggested that Marc Lépine may have felt alienated from Quebec society as he was the child of an immigrant.^[30]

[edit] Long-term impact

The injured and witnesses among university staff and students suffered a variety of physical, psychological, social, existential and financial consequences, including post-traumatic stress syndrome. A number of students committed suicide of whom at least two noted in their suicide notes that their anguish following the massacre was the reason for their suicides. Nine years after the event, survivors reported still being affected by their experiences, though with time some of the effects had lessened.^[31][32]

The massacre was a major spur for the Canadian gun control movement. One of the survivors, Heidi Rathjen, who was in one of the classrooms Lépine did not enter during the shooting, organized the Coalition for Gun Control with Wendy Cukier.^[18] Susan and Jim Edwards, the parents of one of the victims, were also deeply involved.^[33] Their activities, along with others, led to the passage of Bill C-68, or the Firearms Act, in 1995, ushering in stricter gun control regulations.^[18] (See Gun politics in Canada)
In response to the killings a House of Commons Sub-Committee on the Status of Women was struck. It released a report "The War against Women" in June 1991.^[34] Following its recommendations, the federal government established the Canadian Panel on Violence Against Women in August 1991. The panel issued a final report, "Changing the Landscape: Ending Violence – Achieving Equality", in June 1993.^[35]
Police response to the shootings was heavily criticized for the amount of time it gave Lépine to carry out the massacre. The first police officers to arrive at the scene established a perimeter around the building and waited before entering the building. During this period, several women were killed.^[1][36] Subsequent changes to emergency response protocols led to praise of emergency responders' handling of the Dawson College shooting in 2006 in which one woman was killed by a lone gunman. In that incident, coordination amongst emergency response agencies and prompt intervention was credited with minimizing the loss of life.^[37]

[edit] Commemoration

The massacre has been a cause celebre for the women’s movement. “The death of those young women would not be in vain, we promised,” Canadian feminist Judy Rebick recalled. “We would turn our mourning into organizing to put an end to male violence against women.”^[38]

The anniversary of the massacre has been marked since 1991 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, intended as a call to action against discrimination against women.^[39] A White Ribbon Campaign was launched in 1991 by a group of men in London, Ontario because of the massacre, for the purpose of raising awareness about the prevalence of male violence against women, with the ribbon symbolizing “the idea of men giving up their arms.”^[40]

Each year, commemorative demonstrations are held on December 6 across the country in memory of the slain women. Numerous memorials have been erected in various centres.

The Place du 6-Décembre-1989 in the Côte-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough of Montréal was created as a memorial to the victims of the massacre. Located at the corner of Decelles Avenue and Queen Mary Road, it includes the art installation Nef pour quatorze reines (Nave for Fourteen Queens) by Rose-Marie Goulet.^[41]

A memorial erected in Vancouver sparked controversy because it was dedicated to “all women murdered by men,” which critics say implies all men are potential murderers.^[42] As a result, women involved in the project received death threats and the Vancouver Park Board subsequently banned any future memorials that might “antagonize” other groups.^[43][44]

[edit] Controversy

The feminist movement is intermittently criticized for using the massacre as a symbol of male violence against women. For example, Charles Rackoff, a University of Toronto computer science professor, compared feminists conducting vigils marking the event to the Ku Klux Klan. “The point is to use the death of these people as an excuse to promote the feminist/extreme left-wing agenda,” he wrote, adding that it is “no more justified” than the KKK using the “murder of a white person by a black person as an excuse to promote their agenda.”^[45] Less provocative critiques argue that Lépine was a “lone gunman” who does not represent men, and that violence against women is neither condoned nor encouraged officially or unofficially in western culture. In this perspective, feminist memorializing is considered socially divisive on the basis of gender and therefore harmful by bestowing guilt on all men, irrespective of individual propensity to violence against women.^[46]

[edit] References in popular culture

• Adam Kelly wrote a play about the murders called The Anorak. It was named one of the best plays of 2004 by Montreal Gazette theatre critic Matt Radz.
• Gilbert McInnis, writer and drama teacher, wrote a play about the violence called The Die is Cast (2004).
• The Tragically Hip wrote a song entitled "Montreal" about the murders, though it has only been performed at a few of their live performances. A segment can be heard during the song Courage on their live album, Live Between Us. Lyrics and Explanation [1]
• Macabre wrote a song called "Montreal Massacre" about the events. Lyrics: [2]
• The Wyrd Sisters released a song about the massacre entitled "This Memory" on their album Leave a Little Light.
• The Law and Order season 10 premiere episode GunShow was based on this event and the Columbine shooting.
• The rock band Leslie Spit Treeo allude to the event in their song "People Say": Fourteen women shot in Montreal/You can still get a gun at the shopping mall.
• Toronto songwriter, Jonathan Seet, wrote and released a song called 14 Candles (sung by Canadian singer Rachel Smith) about the events on his 2003 album Arousal Disasters.

[edit] See also

• School shooting
• Gendercide

Other Montréal school shootings:

• Concordia University massacre (August 24, 1992)
• Dawson College shooting (September 13, 2006)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• CBC Digital Archives
• Crime Library
• Coroner's Report on the massacre