20th anniversary of Montreal Massacre: We remember

i-f875c0b07d9b3cb6229668554781b35a-alice.jpgOn December 6, 1989, an armed gunman named Marc Lepine entered an engineering classroom at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec. He demanded all 48 men in the class leave the room, lined up all 9 women against a wall, and, shouting "You are all a bunch of [expletive] feminists!", proceeded to shoot them. He went into the hall and shot 18 more people, mostly at random. He finally shot himself.

He had killed 14 women all together, and injured 9 more women and 4 men.

The women who died could have been anyone. They could have been your friends, your mothers, your sisters, your lovers, your daughters, your neighbors, your students, your teachers, maybe even you.

They were killed because they were women.

Remember those who died in the Montreal Massacre:

Genevieve Bergeron, 21, was a 2nd year scholarship student in civil engineering.
Helene Colgan, 23, was in her final year of mechanical engineering and planned to take her master's degree.
Nathalie Croteau, 23, was in her final year of mechanical engineering.
Barbara Daigneault, 22, was in her final year of mechanical engineering and held a teaching assistantship.
Anne-Marie Edward, 21, was a first year student in chemical engineering.
Maud Haviernick, 29, was a 2nd year student in engineering materials, and a graduate in environmental design.
Barbara Maria Klucznik, 31, was a 2nd year engineering student specializing in engineering materials.
Maryse Laganiere, 25, worked in the budget department of the Polytechnique.
Maryse Leclair, 23, was a 4th year student in engineering materials.
Anne-Marie Lemay, 27, was a 4th year student in mechanical engineering.
Sonia Pelletier, 28, was to graduate the next day in mechanical engineering. She was awarded a degree posthumously.
Michele Richard, 21, was a 2nd year student in engineering materials.
Annie St-Arneault, 23, was a mechanical engineering student.
Annie Turcotte, 21, was a first year student in engineering materials.

Please honour the white ribbon as a symbol of the fight against violence against women.

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Hi Alice,
Greetings from Nairobi - Kenya.
Thanks for reminding the world about the unfortunate incident.
As a Journalist and Gender Expert, I urge us to stand up and do something about the incident that I lack the words to describe.
As individuals or groups, we can do a lot to stop if not reduce violence against women. Speaking for myself, I have an obligation to inform and educate the public about it. Yes, I have done that for the last 12 years that I have been a journalist. I now train journalists about Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and I am happy that the sensitization helps them open their eyes to crimes that many of us especially in Africa were brought up to believe that it is the norm and therefore ok.
This has to stop!

By Mildred Barasa (not verified) on 20 Nov 2010 #permalink

In the video I've seen http://www.tubestime.com/watch/dvlog-episode-50-montreal-massacre-and-m… it was said that more then 44 people suffered. Surelly, the people who were killed had families. And what to do to prevent such massacres in future. I've seen a film by Michael Moor where he proved that if the weapon is legal and can be bought by everyone the level of crimes and killings is higher.

I just stumbled on your blog and found this post. Thank you so much for honouring these women, twenty years later. I live in Montreal and was an engineering student at the time. Each year, I quietly and privately remember them and it feels quite lonely. To see that they are still remembered outside of Montreal is wonderful.

By Ann-Louise Howard (not verified) on 02 Jan 2012 #permalink

Thank you Alice. It is so important that we remember these young women and that as we don't forget the hate that killed them; we remained committed to making things better.

My children noticed the flag at their school at half-mast yesterday. They asked me about it, looking at me curiously as my voice choked and tears came to my eyes.