Route route links
- Quebec
- news
- Local news
“Mom, mom, I’m scared, something is happening,” a student texted her mother as police closed down CEGEP.
Author of the article:
Katelyn Thomas, Montreal Gazette
Publication date:
November 12, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 4 minutes read • 5 comments Police at the scene of a shooting Friday night, November 11, 2022, in Laval, in a park near Collège Montmorency. Photo by Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette
Content of the article
Students were allowed to slowly make their way out of Montmorency College Friday night after being locked down for hours due to an incident in which at least three people were shot in a campus park.
Advertisement 2
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The school was placed on lockdown to limit traffic while Laval police searched for at least one suspect in the area, including inside the building. Some of the victims took refuge in the school after being shot, causing panic among the students inside.
Sign up for daily headline news from the Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
By clicking the sign up button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your junk folder.
The next issue of the Montreal Gazette Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered a problem registering you. Please try again
Content of the article
“We are not concerned for their lives at this time,” said Sgt. Geneviève Major, of the Laval police, said of the victims, who were taken to a hospital.
The force first received a call about a person who had been shot at around 5.20pm and discovered a total of four people at the scene.
“We still don’t know if there is a link with CEGEP, did people attend CEGEP? We don’t know”, said Major. “We closed the CEGEP as a security measure to have the least number of people circulating at the moment.”
Advertisement 3
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
A Laval police officer stops a woman walking on school grounds after a shooting in a park next to Collège Montmorency in Laval on Friday, November 11, 2022. Photo by Allen McInnis/Montreal Gazette
Police had taped off the entire perimeter of the school property.
In an update after 8 p.m., Laval police Sgt. Stéphanie Beshara had said officers were sweeping inside the school before slowly letting students out to meet their families. The first to leave were the children attending daycare inside the school, who were accompanied by security guards who had traveled the perimeter to locate their families.
When adult students Ragheb and Lena finally left the school, they stopped just outside the entrance to share a hug in the rain.
“I was basically panicking the whole time, but I’d say I started thinking I was going to be okay like half an hour before I left,” Lena said. “I think this was a random event that will probably never happen again.”
Advertisement 4
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Ragheb, meanwhile, said he felt everything was under control when he realized he couldn’t hear anything in the corridors.
“We tried to stay calm,” he said.
The shootings took place on the same day that CEGEP St-Jean-sur-Richelieu was ordered closed after police received a call about a man acting suspiciously on campus. No one was injured, but a 19-year-old man wearing a bulletproof vest was arrested.
“After the dark day we just finished, it is the turn of our colleagues at Collège Montmorency to be locked out,” the union representing South Shore CEGEP teachers wrote Friday night. “It’s a dark day for the university community.”
Asked about the situation in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Beshara said: “Is it a coincidence or just two different situations? It’s too early to tell.”
Advertisement 5
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The police will meet with the four victims to better understand the situation.
“We need to get information about what exactly happened, do the police know?” Beshara said of the suspect.
Dozens of family members had been sitting in their cars along the perimeter of the school, where they stayed until the students left. Others were huddled under umbrellas, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside.
The mother of a 19-year-old student, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she found out about the shooting because her daughter texted her saying something dangerous was going on.
“She said, ‘Mom, mom, I’m scared, something’s going on,'” the woman said.
“I’m fine now. I used to be very upset, I was praying a lot because we don’t know what’s going on. Now, (my daughter) said, ‘I’m fine.'”
Advertisement 6
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
Before the students could leave, sisters Jessica and Sabrina were under an umbrella with their aunt, waiting for updates from their other sister, who told them that their class had been moved to the auditorium.
“We just want him out so we can go home,” the aunt had said.
Little by little, parents were allowed to pick up children from a nursery within the school one by one. Photo by Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette
Redha Yacoubi had received a text message from her 18-year-old daughter shortly after 6pm, warning that shots had been fired and that CEGEP was being closed.
Yacoubi rushed to the school only to find the area cordoned off by police officers and surrounded by other worried parents.
“The police told us that all the students were locked in the classrooms to secure the perimeter,” Yacoubi said Friday night, adding that he believes at least one of the shooting victims sought refuge inside the school.
Advertisement 7
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
“(The students) didn’t know what was going on. I imagine they heard the shots, I’m not sure. But it was total panic in CEGEP,” Yacoubi added. “At first, we thought it was happening inside CEGEP, but then we found out it was happening next door.”
At the scene, Yacoubi said he spoke with another parent whose young daughters were there for swim lessons Friday evening. They were also on lockdown at the school, he said.
Raheb, left, and Lena embrace after students were released from lockdown after a shooting in a park next to Collège Montmorency in Laval on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. Photo by Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette
“It’s scary,” Yacoubi said, adding that an apparent gunshot was also heard near her youngest daughter’s high school earlier this week. “It’s becoming very worrying.”
Beshara said that despite the recent gun violence in Laval, he wants to reassure citizens that the area is still safe.
The investigation is ongoing.
As for the students who were locked out for hours, “they’re shaken but they’re still standing,” Lena said.
Jesse Feith of the Montreal Gazette contributed to this report.
-
Man arrested in bulletproof vest after CEGEP St-Jean-sur-Richelieu ordered confinement
-
Bail hearing for Kirkland man arrested in firearms investigation
Share this article on your social network
Advertisement 1
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil discussion forum and encouraging all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour to be moderated before appearing on the site. Please keep your comments relevant and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications: You’ll now receive an email if you get a reply to your comment, there’s an update to a comment thread you’re following, or if a user you’re following comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.