The École Polytechnique Massacre or Montreal Massacre was a gun massacre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It claimed 14 victims, all of whom were women.

Contents

1 The Massacre 2 Aftermath 3 Victims 4 Place du 6-Décembre-1989 5 External links

The Massacre

On December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine entered the École Polytechnique, affiliated with the Université de Montréal, in Montreal. He went into an engineering class, separated the men from the women, forced out the men at gunpoint, began to scream about how he hated feminists, and then opened fire on the women. Lépine continued his rampage in other parts of the building, opening fire on other women he encountered. He killed fourteen women (thirteen students and one employee of the university) and injured eight others before committing suicide.

Lépine left a note explaining that he blamed feminism for the failures in his life, including not being accepted into engineering school, despite the fact that women only made up 20 per cent of engineering students at that time.

Aftermath

The massacre profoundly shocked Quebecers and Canadians. The Quebec government and the Montreal city government declared three days of mourning. When Lépine's motive became clear, the event served as a massive spur for the Canadian feminist movement and for action against violence against women. December 6 is now observed as a memorial day, especially in Montreal; in 1991 Parliament officially designated December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. A white ribbon is the symbol of December 6 memorials.

The aftermath was especially hard on the students and the support staff that was present at the time. Many suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. One individual who had been there that day, Sarto Blais, simply could not cope and hanged himself in the following months. His parents soon followed.

Also, an article published in La Presse on December 7, 2004, stated that one student, working part-time for Urgences Santé, was there studying in the cafeteria that day. He can be credited for helping victims, but sadly he too could not cope with the idea that he could have done more, and ended his life. (He can be seen in pictures as a paramedic in plain clothes)

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

Victims

The women who died were:

1. Geneviève Bergeron (1968-1989), a scholarship student majoring in civil engineering. She was also a talented musician;
2. Hélène Colgan (1966-1989) only a semester away from graduating with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering;
3. Nathalie Croteau, mechanical engineering student,
4. Barbara Daigneault (1967-1989) in her final year of mechanical engineering. Her father was a mechanical engineering professor at another Montreal-area engineering school; Barbara helped him as a teaching assistant.
5. Anne-Marie Edward (1968-1989) chemical engineering student and member of the university's alpine ski team. Her family elected to bury her in her team uniform.
6. Maud Haviernick (1960-1989) had a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and was in her second year of materials engineering;
7. Maryse Laganière, worked in the university's budget department. She had recently married.
8. Maryse Leclair, engineering materials student;
9. Anne-Marie Lemay, mechanical engineering student;
10. Sonia Pelletier, would have graduated on December 7 as an mechanical engineer;
11. Michèle Richard, engineering materials student;
12. Annie St-Arneault, mechanical engineering student;
13. Annie Turcotte (1969-1989), materials engineering student;
14. Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, materials engineering student.

Place du 6-Décembre-1989

External links

• CBC Archives (http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-398/disasters_tragedies/montreal_massacre/)
• Article about Lépine on Crimelibrary.com (http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/marc_lepine/index.html)fr:Tuerie de l'école polytechnique de Montréal