4 dead in school shooting in Saskatchewan

[jollyjacktar]

Horrible, horrible news.

Shared under the fair dealings provision of the copyright act.

"BREAKING NEWS: Five people dead, two in critical condition, and one arrested after shooting at a high school in an aboriginal Canadian community
Government officials say at least five people have been killed in a shooting in the aboriginal community of
Another person, believed to be the shooter, has been arrested
Teddy Clark, a community leader, said people are in 'shock' after the attack
Shooting reported in building that houses 900 pupils aged 12 to 18
'There was lots of screaming, there was about six, seven shots before I got outside,' said 10th grader Noel Desjarlais who ran from the school

By Chris Pleasance For Dailymail.com and Alexandra Klausner For Dailymail.com and Reuters

Published: 22:14 GMT, 22 January 2016  | Updated: 00:18 GMT, 23 January 2016

Five people are dead and two are in critical condition following a shooting on Friday in a school in an aboriginal community in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Police confirmed an 'active and ongoing' incident at La Loche Community School in the province of Saskatchewan this afternoon and were warning people to stay away.

The neighboring elementary school was also placed into lockdown as a precautionary measure, but it now appears that the shooter has been taken into custody. The identities of the shooter and the victims have not yet been released.

'Obviously this is every parent's worst nightmare,' Trudeau said.

'I’m not 100 percent sure what’s actually happened but it started at home and ended at the school,' La Loche Acting Mayor Kevin Janvier said.

A hospital nurse said a number of people were being treated for gunshot wounds, CBC reported.

The La Loche Health Centre and Hospital declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

CBC spoke with 10th grader Noel Desjarlais who said that he heard screams as he darted away from the school.

'I ran outside the school,' Desjarlais said.

'There was lots of screaming, there was about six, seven shots before I got outside. I believe there was more shots by the time I did get out.'

A cellphone video taken by one resident and broadcast by the CBC showed students walking away from the school through the snow-covered ground and emergency personal moving in.

John Baglieri of CTV said on Twitter that he spoke to a student at the school who told him they saw a staff member shot. This has not been confirmed by the authorities.

Teddy Clark, the leader of the Clearwater River Dene Nation, a branch of aboriginal government, told Saskatoon Star Phoenix: 'The community usually pulls together really strong in times like this.

'Right now, La Loche is devastated. Both Clearwater and La Loche, a lot of people are in shock. This is something that you only see on TV most of the time.'

According to earlier reports the shooting happened inside the Dene building which usually holds classes for approximately 900 students aged between 12 and 18. 

The provincial government confirmed that there has been 'a very serious incident but the information is unclear,' saying the 'situation is dynamic and still unfolding at this time.'

Opposition Leader Cam Broten said on Twitter that he was 'shocked and saddened by news of a school shooting in La Loche. My thoughts are with all students, staff and families affected.'

A Facebook post on the school's page says there was an emergency occurring at the Dene Building of the school.

Police said they are in the preliminary stages of their investigation and will release further updates when they become available.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall also issued the following statement to the community: 'Words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today in La Loche,' Wall said.

'My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community. Thank you to the RCMP and all the emergency personnel who responded quickly to the shootings. Saskatchewan Education and Social Services will be available to provide all necessary crisis support and counselling services to the school and the community.

In 2014, a teacher expressed concern about violence at the La Loche school, citing an incident where a student who had tried to stab her was put back in her classroom after serving his sentence, and another attacked her at her home.

'That student got 10 months,' Janice Wilson told the CBC of the student who tried to stab her in class. 'And when he was released he was returned to the school and was put in my classroom.'

Mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada, which has stricter gun laws than the United States. In the country's worst school shooting, 14 college students were killed at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique in 1989

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3412739/At-two-dead-one-arrested-shooting-high-school-Canada.html#ixzz3y1VjiKr3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook"

 

[Jarnhamar]

Sounds like a nice place to live.


http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/saskatchewan/violent-saskatchewan-mob-attacks-medics-police-1.1034351

Violent Saskatchewan mob attacks medics, police
CBC News
September 30, 2011

A crowd of 50 to 70 people in the small northern town of La Loche, Sask., left a trail of destruction on Friday, storming a hospital, burning a police truck and attacking RCMP officers and paramedics.

Police said at around 3:15 a.m. CT in the town of about 2,300 residents, there were two big parties going on and two people were driving around on all-terrain vehicles.

When police tried to stop the ATVs, one of the vehicles went into a ditch and crashed. The driver, a 29-year-old man, passed out and an ambulance was called.

Then, crowds of people came out of the parties, apparently blaming the two RCMP officers for the man's injuries. The crowds attacked the Mounties, as well as paramedics, police said.

"Emergency personnel had cans, bottles, and other debris thrown at them," the RCMP said in a news release. "Several of the party-goers surrounded the police truck and ambulance and were threatening the members."

After the ambulance left the scene, police said they went to the hospital to check on the injured man. However, a crowd of 50 to 70 people also showed up at the hospital and tried to get in.

"It is believed the crowd's intent was to forcibly remove the two La Loche members that were inside the hospital," the RCMP said.

The police and hospital staff barricaded themselves inside, but people smashed the windows and kept trying to get in, police said.

Police said they had to use pepper spray to keep people out. All of the remaining Mounties in the town were called in for backup.

An RCMP truck was set on fire and the ambulance was severely damaged, police said.

The ATV driver was treated for minor injuries from his crash. None of the police or paramedics were seriously injured.

Police are continuing their investigation, but have not yet said what charges will be laid.

This isn't the first case of violence in the small village of La Loche.

Gang violence was blamed for the death of Matthew St. Pierre, 29, who was shot and killed across from the RCMP detachment on June 6, 2010.

In the summer of 2009, a 13-year-old girl was hit in a drive-by shooting. She survived her injuries but her father, Robert St. Pierre, said there was a definite culture of fear present in the community that made it difficult for some individuals to be brought to justice.

In 2009, RCMP told CBC News that there were possibly as many as 100 gang members in the village.

 

[brihard]

Sounds like a nice place to live.


http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/saskatchewan/violent-saskatchewan-mob-attacks-medics-police-1.1034351

I had a buddy posted up there, and another friend is up doing scene security right now. The place is a hole. Huge, huge social issues up htere, lots of endemic violence.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

The media coverage of this has been weird.  CBC has been very careful to say almost nothing in its reporting of this incident.

I got me a feeling there is a great deal going on in this situation.

 

[brihard]

The media coverage of this has been weird.  CBC has been very careful to say almost nothing in its reporting of this incident.

I got me a feeling there is a great deal going on in this situation.

Everything I'm hearing (and this can all be found in the media) is supporting a pretty straightforward conventional school shooting pattern... Kid loses it, two dead in a residence, makes a Facebook post that he's gonna go shoot up the school, proceeds to do so, RCMP show up and chase him through the halls, and eventually he surrenders. One of the witnesses quotes "a shotgun", which in a community like that is completely unsurprising...

There is undoubtedly a ton of police work going on- we're looking at four first degree murder, seven attempt murder charges. They'll need to get it absolutely right. But it's a straightforward if relatively complex investigation. Statements to be taken from many people, lots and lots of forensics work to do... But you go shoot up a school, typically its a pretty open and shut case.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

Everything I'm hearing (and this can all be found in the media) is supporting a pretty straightforward conventional school shooting pattern... Kid loses it, two dead in a residence, makes a Facebook post that he's gonna go shoot up the school, proceeds to do so, RCMP show up and chase him through the halls, and eventually he surrenders. One of the witnesses quotes "a shotgun", which in a community like that is completely unsurprising...

There is undoubtedly a ton of police work going on- we're looking at four first degree murder, seven attempt murder charges. They'll need to get it absolutely right. But it's a straightforward if relatively complex investigation. Statements to be taken from many people, lots and lots of forensics work to do... But you go shoot up a school, typically its a pretty open and shut case.

I guess I was wondering if there was either a gang, bullying or racial issue involved

 

[dapaterson]

I guess I was wondering if there was either a gang, bullying or racial issue involved

CBC is now reporting it's a 17 year old; that's probably driving the caution in their reporting, since they can't ID the shooter or report anything that could identify him.

 

[kratz]

I guess I was wondering if there was either a gang, bullying or racial issue involved

This is why we need to wait for more public information.
Yesterday the news said 5 dead....we are now informed 4 dead, but this thread headline has not changed.

Commenting on live situations are always tenuous.

 

[brihard]

This is why we need to wait for more public information.
Yesterday the news said 5 dead....we are now informed 4 dead, but this thread headline has not changed.

Commenting on live situations are always tenuous.

Good catch. Title fixed.

 

[Jarnhamar]

I'm always disappointed in a large number of firearm owners when something like this happens.  Often comments to on social media quickly become about themselves.  Oh great wait for it liberals will try  and take our guns away!  Woe is me,  why can't I have 30 round mags,  cops do.

That happened like I expected and of course as I also expected there were immediate calls for more gun control and banning aemi-autos and bring back the gun registry comments but what I found strange was the usual vehemence was missing. 

People made comments almost by rote but no one really got into it.  It lacked the usual zeal.  It's feels almost like the other side is trying to avoid the story.  I can't place my finger in why yet.

 

[brihard]

I'm always disappointed in a large number of firearm owners when something like this happens.  Often comments to on social media quickly become about themselves.  Oh great wait for it liberals will try  and take our guns away!  Woe is me,  why can't I have 30 round mags,  cops do.

That happened like I expected and of course as I also expected there were immediate calls for more gun control and banning aemi-autos and bring back the gun registry comments but what I found strange was the usual vehemence was missing. 

People made comments almost by rote but no one really got into it.  It lacked the usual zeal.  It's feels almost like the other side is trying to avoid the story.  I can't place my finger in why yet.

Maybe everyone's just shaking their heads at the pure awfulness of a family absolutely destroyed, several more badly affected, and a whole community in mourning...

 

[kratz]

People are so accustomed to being fed their news, even in this "internet age:.

The majority of people lack the ability or desire to employ critical thought
in their daily lives, let alone national or international issues.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

CBC is now reporting it's a 17 year old; that's probably driving the caution in their reporting, since they can't ID the shooter or report anything that could identify him.

17? Great. :facepalm: Slap on the wrist, healing circle and smoke lodge and report weekly to the elders for a history of the indigenous peoples, in the native tongue. His aboriginal heritage will have to be taken into consideration by the Judge, at sentencing, and as a minor, he'll likely go to jail til he's 18 and then......................Well, fuck, they'll likely put him back in the same classroom like the last time he threatened to kill his teacher and attacked her with a knife. He's just misunderstood and besides, huffing gas relaxes him, so let's not dwell on it. :

 

[brihard]

17? Great. :facepalm: Slap on the wrist, healing circle and smoke lodge and report weekly to the elders for a history of the indigenous peoples, in the native tongue. His aboriginal heritage will have to be taken into consideration by the Judge, at sentencing, and as a minor, he'll likely go to jail til he's 18 and then......................Well, frig, they'll likely put him back in the same classroom like the last time he threatened to kill his teacher and attacked her with a knife. He's just misunderstood and besides, huffing gas relaxes him, so let's not dwell on it. :

Hardly. As a 17 year old he can and likely will be subject to adult sentencing, which for first degree murder is still life.

The last 17 year old I knew who was convicted of first degree murder (I worked for eight months in a youth custody facility) got a life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 10 years. That was for a single count; this case is four murders and seven attempts. He'll get life and serve a long time of it.

Alas, the one I knew was killed in Sollins Bay in 2013, some time before reaching parole eligibility...

 

[Eye In The Sky]

RIP to the victims. 

Why is a 'life' sentence not exactly that.  "Life, no parole for 10 years" is a contradiction...

 

[Bass ackwards]

... there were immediate calls for more gun control and banning aemi-autos and bring back the gun registry comments but what I found strange was the usual vehemence was missing. 

People made comments almost by rote but no one really got into it.  It lacked the usual zeal.  It's feels almost like the other side is trying to avoid the story.  I can't place my finger in why yet.

I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that this is a FN community. Howling for disarmament in this case means advocating taking guns away from First Nations people and that's a can of worms I bet even Wendy Cukier wouldn't care to open.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Hardly. As a 17 year old he can and likely will be subject to adult sentencing, which for first degree murder is still life.

The last 17 year old I knew who was convicted of first degree murder (I worked for eight months in a youth custody facility) got a life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 10 years. That was for a single count; this case is four murders and seven attempts. He'll get life and serve a long time of it.

That makes me curious as to the age (and charge) of the student that tried to stab the one teacher in the story above and only got 10 months (then put back in her class).

 

[OldSolduer]

The justice system isn't about justice nor is it a system. I call it the "legal industry".

When an 25 year old inmate with the cognitive abilities of a three year old is sent up the river....who benefits?

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Why is a 'life' sentence not exactly that.  "Life, no parole for 10 years" is a contradiction...

It is a life sentence but if, while detained by 'Corrections", there has been significant changes there is a chance for parole.  No promises, no 'will happens', but a chance.  [unfortunately too much of a chance but that comes down to political appointments and money more then sentencing criteria]

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Hardly. As a 17 year old he can and likely will be subject to adult sentencing, which for first degree murder is still life.

The last 17 year old I knew who was convicted of first degree murder (I worked for eight months in a youth custody facility) got a life sentence with no eligibility for parole for 10 years. That was for a single count; this case is four murders and seven attempts. He'll get life and serve a long time of it.

Alas, the one I knew was killed in Sollins Bay in 2013, some time before reaching parole eligibility...

Brihard,
I wish I could share your optimism.