At least four people are dead and 13 wounded after a shooting at college in downtown Montreal. A recorded message at the college said two gunmen were killed, but police would confirm only one dead shooter. A SWAT team was in the college because "we believe there might be other suspects inside the Dawson College," a police spokesman said.
Montreal police confirmed that at least one suspect was "neutralized," but did not provide details on how the gunman died.
"Whether he did it to himself or not, I can't yet say," said spokesman Yan Lafrenière.
Television images showed police officers dragging a bloody body out of the main doors of the building, leaving a trail of blood on the street.
Students inside Dawson College told reporters they heard several shots in the building around 1 p.m. local time.
Eyewitnesses say they saw a tall skinny man, wearing a black trench coat and a Mohawk haircut, walk into the cafeteria carrying a large gun. He apparently fired several shots.
Student Michel Boyer sought shelter behind a reception desk after seeing a gunman and fleeing from the vicinity of the shootings.
"I thought this was fake, and it was just an excuse to get out of class," he told CBC Newsworld. "I did run away as soon as I did see that it was real."
His voice shaking, he added, "It was the most scary thing that has ever happened to me."
Boyer said he saw at least one man holding a gun.
"I'm only 19 and to have flashes of your life and the people that you love going by you, it should not be allowed."
Dawson College instructor Arielle Reid said she was in her office when the shooting began.
"I heard the shots and a student ran into my office," she told CBC Newsworld. "People don't know what is going on and they don't know what to do."
Hundreds of students fled the building, and the area was cordoned off. Police officers wearing bulletproof vests kept people away from the college.
"They're telling me, 'Go the other way, lady, you're in the line of fire,'" said CBC News reporter Nancy Wood at the scene.
Hundreds of officers surrounded the building in downtown Montreal, cordoning off a park facing the school, as well as the Alexis Nihon Plaza, a nearby shopping centre.
Police have finished combing the college floor by floor and room by room to secure the building, more than three hours after the first shots were heard. They've set up a security perimeter that spans Atwater, Sherbrooke and Maisonneuve streets.
Public transit officials have closed the subway system's green line, which serves Dawson College, in order to allow a SWAT team to sweep the underground stations.
During the shootings, students and staff sought refuge at nearby Concordia University.
The university's student union is running an emergency centre, where psychologists are on hand to assist Dawson students and staff.
Medical workers with a local CLSC health clinic are also at Concordia to provide advice and support to people fleeing the shooting scene.
Students and staff will be in shock and will experience symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.
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For those of us in Canada, but especially for those in Quebec, this shooting will be sure to raise chilling memories of 1989, when a 25-year-old man gunned down 14 women at Montreal's l'École Polytechnique before shooting himself. There was also the shooting at a high school in Taber, Alberta in 1999 just days after Columbine.
From what I saw on TV, Dawson college takes up an entire block and is located at the former site of an old convent. It has a student body of 10,000, between 15 and 20 years of age. I don't know much about the education system in Quebec because here in Ontario, high-school means grades 9 to 12. I know for sure that there are differences between a lot of securities policies (purchasing and selling of bonds, stocks, etc.) in Quebec and the rest of the country..they do things(everything pretty much) very differently in Quebec..separation anyone? The college is located very close to the Montreal Forum which is the former home of the city's professional hockey (NHL) team, the Montreal Canadiens.
I also saw an eye-witness who confirmed that the gunman was dressed in a black trench coat with black army boots and body pearcings (earings, presumably). She also said that the shooter was using an automatic weapon as did not have to stop and reload.
Montreal police confirmed that at least one suspect was "neutralized," but did not provide details on how the gunman died.
"Whether he did it to himself or not, I can't yet say," said spokesman Yan Lafrenière.
Television images showed police officers dragging a bloody body out of the main doors of the building, leaving a trail of blood on the street.
Students inside Dawson College told reporters they heard several shots in the building around 1 p.m. local time.
Eyewitnesses say they saw a tall skinny man, wearing a black trench coat and a Mohawk haircut, walk into the cafeteria carrying a large gun. He apparently fired several shots.
Student Michel Boyer sought shelter behind a reception desk after seeing a gunman and fleeing from the vicinity of the shootings.
"I thought this was fake, and it was just an excuse to get out of class," he told CBC Newsworld. "I did run away as soon as I did see that it was real."
His voice shaking, he added, "It was the most scary thing that has ever happened to me."
Boyer said he saw at least one man holding a gun.
"I'm only 19 and to have flashes of your life and the people that you love going by you, it should not be allowed."
Dawson College instructor Arielle Reid said she was in her office when the shooting began.
"I heard the shots and a student ran into my office," she told CBC Newsworld. "People don't know what is going on and they don't know what to do."
Hundreds of students fled the building, and the area was cordoned off. Police officers wearing bulletproof vests kept people away from the college.
"They're telling me, 'Go the other way, lady, you're in the line of fire,'" said CBC News reporter Nancy Wood at the scene.
Hundreds of officers surrounded the building in downtown Montreal, cordoning off a park facing the school, as well as the Alexis Nihon Plaza, a nearby shopping centre.
Police have finished combing the college floor by floor and room by room to secure the building, more than three hours after the first shots were heard. They've set up a security perimeter that spans Atwater, Sherbrooke and Maisonneuve streets.
Public transit officials have closed the subway system's green line, which serves Dawson College, in order to allow a SWAT team to sweep the underground stations.
During the shootings, students and staff sought refuge at nearby Concordia University.
The university's student union is running an emergency centre, where psychologists are on hand to assist Dawson students and staff.
Medical workers with a local CLSC health clinic are also at Concordia to provide advice and support to people fleeing the shooting scene.
Students and staff will be in shock and will experience symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
For those of us in Canada, but especially for those in Quebec, this shooting will be sure to raise chilling memories of 1989, when a 25-year-old man gunned down 14 women at Montreal's l'École Polytechnique before shooting himself. There was also the shooting at a high school in Taber, Alberta in 1999 just days after Columbine.
From what I saw on TV, Dawson college takes up an entire block and is located at the former site of an old convent. It has a student body of 10,000, between 15 and 20 years of age. I don't know much about the education system in Quebec because here in Ontario, high-school means grades 9 to 12. I know for sure that there are differences between a lot of securities policies (purchasing and selling of bonds, stocks, etc.) in Quebec and the rest of the country..they do things(everything pretty much) very differently in Quebec..separation anyone? The college is located very close to the Montreal Forum which is the former home of the city's professional hockey (NHL) team, the Montreal Canadiens.
I also saw an eye-witness who confirmed that the gunman was dressed in a black trench coat with black army boots and body pearcings (earings, presumably). She also said that the shooter was using an automatic weapon as did not have to stop and reload.
and that he wanted to die in a ''hail of gunfire"...and he did that ****er.I am still traumatised today, and couldnt go to school because i just couldnt get those senseless, dispicable, foolish acts out of my head.I just cant talk about it, its like in my head its all mixed up, it may sound like all my points are all over the place i know but its just the way i am after yesterday, and it might take some time before i become a normal kid again. 
