Concordia University massacre
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| Concordia University Killing | |
|---|---|
| Location |  Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Date | August 24, 1992 (UTC-4) |
| Attack type | school shooting, massacre |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Valery Fabrikant |
The Concordia University massacre was a school shooting on August 24, 1992 that resulted in the deaths of four people at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The shooter was Dr. Valery Fabrikant, a former Associate Professor of mechanical engineering at Concordia and a colleague of the slain men.
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[edit] Overview
Impending dismissal from his position (on grounds of intimidation and harassment of fellow staff members) and a contempt of court charge (which Fabrikant claimed would lead to his death in jail) culminated in Fabrikant's shooting rampage on the ninth floor of the Henry F. Hall building, which housed the Engineering department at Concordia.
Killed in the shooting spree were Departmental Chair Phoivos Ziogas and Professors Matthew Douglass, Michael Hogben, and Jaan Saber. A departmental staff secretary, Elizabeth Horwood, was injured.
Fabrikant claims that these killings were justified and that anyone else faced with a similar situation would have followed his actions. He wrote on his website: "I hope to be remembered as a person who had enough courage to fight lawlessness with deadly force and I hope to encourage others to do the same". [1] However it is important to note that the victims were not closely involved in the controversy Fabrikant had started with his charges of questionable financial dealings and improper credit for research work.
[edit] Events
Around 2:30 p.m. on Monday, August 24, 1992, Fabrikant walked onto the ninth floor of the Henry F. Hall Building. He was carrying a briefcase that contained three handguns and a large amount of ammunition.
First he went looking for Dean Srikanta Swamy and Sam Osman (the chair of the mechanical-engineering department). Neither was in. He next headed to his own office where he was scheduled to meet Michael Hogben, the president of the Concordia Faculty Association (CUFA). According to police, Hogben attempted to give Fabrikant a letter setting out the conditions under which he would be allowed to visit the CUFA offices. His access had to be limited, the letter said, because his behaviour was causing those who worked there “considerable distress.”
Fabrikant took out a .38 calibre pistol and shot Hogben three times. Hogben fell to the floor and died instantly, still clutching the letter. During Fabrikant's trial, witness for the prosecution testified that he saw Hogben's body face down, not face up. [2] Also evidence shows (file number P-8) Hogben holding the letter with three fingers (not the thumb, nor the index finger).
A faculty colleague, Jaan Saber, called out from his office nearby. Fabrikant crossed the hall and fired two shots into Saber, who died in hospital the next day. Back in the hall, heading back to Osman’s office again, he fired at the fleeing Elizabeth Horwood, wounding her in the thigh. He then worked his way through the ninth floor corridors to the other side of the building and into the office of Phoivos Ziogas (chair of the electrical and computer-engineering department), who was talking with Otto Schwelb, another colleague. Fabrikant shot Ziogas twice; he died in hospital a month later. A scuffle with Schwelb took place, and Fabrikant lost the pistol he was holding. Schwelb, unaware that Fabrikant had two other guns in his briefcase, went back to tend the injured Ziogas.
Matthew Douglass (a professor of civil engineering who was known to be close to Dean Swamy), tried to reason with Fabrikant, who had returned to the dean’s offices. He was shot four times and died almost instantly. Fabrikant now took a security guard and another professor hostage, locked himself in an office with them and called an emergency operator stating that he had just “made several murders” and wanted to talk to a TV reporter. He stayed on the line for an hour. When he put his gun down to adjust the phone, the professor kicked it away and the security guard overpowered him. [3]
[edit] Aftermath
A team from the Montreal Gazette investigated Fabrikant’s academic credentials and discovered that he had emigrated from the USSR not as a political dissident, but because he’d been fired from a succession of posts for his threatening and disruptive behaviour.
A subsequent university investigation (the Arthurs Report) stated that “We have confirmed the validity of a number of Dr. Fabrikant’s more specific allegations”. But it went on to state that Fabrikant’s allegations were in no way motivated by concern for the public good. They were the “ultimate revenge” of a desperate man. “We take no pleasure in acknowledging that [this document] lends support to so malevolent a purpose and credibility to so unsavoury an individual,” the report concluded.[3]
Fabrikant is currently serving his sentence at Archambault Prison in Sainte-Anne-Des-Plaines and eligible for parole on August 24, 2017. Four large granite study tables in the foyer of the Hall Building were placed as a memorial to the slain professors. A wall plaque nearby commemorates the event.
[edit] References
- ^ Valery Fabrikant (2002). Am I sorry? (HTML). Retrieved on 2006-09-15.
- ^ Trial Transcript.
- ^ a b Morris Wolfe (2002). Dr Fabrikant's Solution (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
[edit] External links
- Fabrikant's website, containing his own accounts of events, trial transcripts and a collection of postings
- Dr. Fabrikant's Solution, extensive article by Morris Wolfe, based on earlier articles by Wolfe in Saturday Night and Lingua Franca
- The Fabrikant Affair, from Concordia University's online archives
- Fabrikant's publications, Google Scholar search for the publications of V.I. Fabrikant
