A small band of people gathered in the foyer of the high school to mark the 22nd anniversary of one of the most appalling events in recent Canadian history — the 1989 Montreal Massacre of 14 female students at L’Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.
They were shot and killed by deranged gunman Marc Lepine because they were women.
“Take time to consider this persistent and ongoing problem,” the Women’s Shelter’s Nelli Richardson. “Fourteen women no longer walk on this earth solely because they were women.”
In total, Lepine shot 28 people before turning his legally obtained Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle on himself. The massacre stunned the country, resulted in creation of the federal Long Gun Registry and the establishment of December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
Sadly, many women are still victimized and abused by men. Equally disturbing is that only one or two young people — and only two men — attended the afternoon ceremony.
Here are a few pictures of the event:
The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women was marked by a ceremony in the foyer of the high school on Tuesday afternoon. The event commemorated the slaying of 14 women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. They died because they were women. Their slaying by deranged gunman 22 years ago is marked across the country. David F. Rooney photoEach of 14 chairs bears a plaque with the name and a brief biography of one of the women, many of them engineering students, who were slain by 25-year-old Marc Lépine. He shot, in total, 28 people before turning his Ruger Mini-14 on himself on December 6, 1989. The massacre stunned the country and ultimately resulted in establishment of the Long Gun Registry. These two particular chairs are dedicated to nursing student Barbara Maria Klucznik (left) and Maryse LeClair, a 23-year-old metallurgy student. David F. Rooney photoFour-year-old Larissa Bruchig lays a rose on one of the chairs representing the departed spirit of one of the women slain in Montreal 22 years ago. David F. Rooney photo
