École Polytechnique massacre

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The École Polytechnique massacre, otherwise known as the Montreal Massacre, occurred on December 6, 1989, at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec. Marc Lépine entered the campus and carried out a shooting rampage that killed 14 women as well as wounding 13 other people, before committing suicide shortly after. All who died were women. The wounded survivors included mostly women but also a few men.

1 Marc Lépine
2 The massacre
3 Aftermath
4 Murder victims
5 Post-attack fatalities
6 Place du 6-Décembre-1989
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Marc Lépine

Main article: Marc Lépine

Born Gamil Gharbi, Marc Lépine had been brought up by a French-Canadian mother and an Algerian father. His father was abusive towards Marc, his sister, and his mother. Marc's father had wanted women to stay in traditional roles, and some of this may have rubbed off onto his son. After his parents divorced, Gharbi legally changed his name, first to Gamil Lépine, taking his mother's last name, later changing it to Marc Lépine, possibly in an attempt to fit into French-Canadian culture. This emphasis on Lépine's childhood as a cause of the killings has been disputed, namely, by Barbara Frum who questioned the notion that victims of child abuse necessarily go on to abuse others (see p. 26, Perspectives on the Montreal Massacre by Sue McPherson 2005).

[edit] The massacre

Shortly after 5 p.m., Lépine entered the École Polytechnique, an engineering school affiliated with the Université de Montréal. He first went into a mechanical engineering class, forced the men out at gunpoint, and opened fire on the women who remained. Lépine continued his rampage in other parts of the building, opening fire on other students and staff. He killed 14 women in all (12 engineering students, one nursing student and one employee of the university), injuring 13 others (including at least 4 men) before turning the rifle on himself, committing suicide.

Lépine blamed his actions on affirmative action, which he believed had kept him from claiming his 'rightful place' at the engineering school, and more generally on the women's movement itself and other changes in society, through which women were increasingly entering the workforce. He had applied for admission into the engineering school, but his application was rejected. Lépine had studied at several CEGEPs and had performed well in his classes over a period of several years.

Lépine left a note blaming feminists for ruining his life and outlining the reasons he resorted to taking this action, mentioning also Denis Lortie, who had mounted a political attack in 1984 on members of the Quebec National Assembly. The only version of that suicide letter available is the one leaked to feminist Francine Pelletier a year afterwards, translated into English by her, and published in the press.

[edit] Aftermath

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The massacre profoundly shocked citizens of Quebec and Canada. The Quebec government and the Montreal city government declared three days of mourning. On the same day that the killings happened, television journalist Barbara Frum interviewed survivors, later trying to have people see this tragic event as a crime against humanity and not simply as a matter of violence against women.

The massacre served as a major spur for the Canadian feminist movement and for action against violence against women. December 6 is now observed as a memorial day in Canada, especially in Montreal; in 1991 Parliament officially designated December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. A white or purple ribbon is used as a symbol for December 6 memorials.

Dealing with the trauma was difficult for many people, on different levels and in different ways. Many of the students and support staff who had been present at the time were to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. The friends and families of those involved, Lépine's mother, and many others, must also have felt severe emotional pain at the gravity of the event and their own losses.

The massacre was also a major spur for the Canadian gun control movement, which resulted in the passage of stricter gun control legislation in 1995 (in the form of Bill C-68, passed as the Firearms Act). See Gun politics in Canada.

[edit] Murder victims

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] Post-attack fatalities

Sarto Blais, who had been on campus that day, hanged himself in the following months. His parents subsequently also committed suicide.

An article published in La Presse on December 6, 2004, stated that one student, working part-time for Urgences Santé (Montreal's emergency medical service), was there studying in the cafeteria that day. He can be credited for helping victims, but he also ended his own life.

[edit] Place du 6-Décembre-1989

The Place du 6-Décembre-1989 in the Côte-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough was established as a memorial to the massacre. Located at the corner of Decelles Avenue and Queen Mary Road, it includes the artwork Nef pour quatorze reines (Nave for 14 Queens) by Rose-Marie Goulet.