Remembering the Dawson College Shooting - 4 Years Later

4 years ago today, something tragic happened in our city. A deranged man by the name of Kimveer Gill entered Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec and began shooting randomly at people. The tragedy lasted for 20 minutes, between the times of 12:42 p.m. and 1:02 p.m. The perpetrator caused one victim, 18 year old Anastasia De Sousa. If you ask me, this is one victim too many. There were countless others who were injured either physically and/or mentally. Today, we remember them.

I was working my shift at the restaurant when I heard this news over the radio. My first reaction was "This isn't really happening here". After it was confirmed, I began to feel angry. Angry and helpless. I was angry because Dawson was my home for 4 years of my life. I made friends, took classes, bonded with teachers, ate at the caf, skipped class, and overall had fun for 4 years of my life! This was my home and no one was going to ruin it. However, it was too late. There was nothing I could do. It was the first time that a tragedy like this bothered me so much. I knew 3 people in the school that were there at that time. One of them being my cousin. You can ask any of the students who were in the school at that time and I can guarantee those 20 minutes felt like an eternity.

Please take 1 minute today to remember Anastasia De Sousa and all the other students who were injured psychologically or physically that day. Remember that this can happen anywhere at any time.

Time does heal but you can rest assured that we will never forget...