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4 dead after shootings in western Canada Remote Canada aboriginal community reeling after 4 shot dead
(about 2 hours later)
TORONTO — A gunman opened fire at a high school and a home Friday in an aboriginal community in Western Canada, leaving four dead including a teacher and wounding at least two people, officials and family members said. TORONTO — A remote aboriginal community in western Canada was left reeling from the unimaginable after a gunman opened fire at a school and a home, killing four people, including a teacher, and severely wounding at least two others.
The grade 7-to-12 La Loche Community School is in the remote Dene aboriginal community of La Loche in the western Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Residents placed candles and flowers in the snow in a makeshift memorial outside the grade 7-to-12 La Loche Community School in the Dene aboriginal community of La Loche in Saskatchewan Province. La Loche is a town of 3,000 where everybody seems to know each other.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Supt. Maureen Levy said the gunman was arrested outside the school but declined to release details about him. She said there were two crime scenes, one a home and the other the school. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Supt. Maureen Levy said the gunman was arrested outside the school Friday but declined to release details about him. She said there were two crime scenes, one at a home and the other at the school. Levy said four people were killed, but declined to give their ages or sex.
Kevin Janvier told The Associated Press that his 23-year-old daughter Marie, a teacher, was shot dead by the gunman. He said police told him the gunmen first shot two of his siblings before killing Janvier’s daughter. The teacher killed at the school was identified by her boyfriend and father as 23-year-old Marie Janvier. Deegan Park, her boyfriend of three years, said he would have given up the rest of his life just to spend another year with her.
“I grew up not a good guy, but she turned me right,” Park told The Associated Press. “She was that much of a great person to turn me right from all the wrongdoings I used to do. ... She was a fantastic person.”
“I loved her, I really did,” said Park, who remembered her smile and how she would blush when she was happy.
Her father, Kevin Janvier, said police told him the gunman first shot two of his siblings before killing his daughter, his only child.
“He shot two of his brothers at his home and made his way to the school,” he said. “I’m just so sad.”“He shot two of his brothers at his home and made his way to the school,” he said. “I’m just so sad.”
A government official, however, said the gunman shot two boys who are related but not his brothers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the details. A government official, however, said the gunman shot two boys who are related but not his brothers at a home before heading to the school. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about the investigation.
Marie was Janvier’s only child. He said he didn’t know if the shooter knew his daughter. Kevin Janvier and Deegan Park, Marie Janvier’s boyfriend, told the AP they were anxious for police to release her body. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he had been advised of the shooting by the RCMP. He said two wounded people were in critical condition.
“I still haven’t seen her body and it’s breaking my heart knowing that she gonna spend the night on the hard floor,” Park said. “Obviously, this is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Trudeau said. “The community is reeling.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said from Davos, Switzerland that a suspect was in custody and described the two injuries as critical.
“This is every parent’s worst nightmare,” he said. “The community is reeling.”
A student who was just returning from lunch when the shots were fired Friday said his friends ran past him urging him to get out.A student who was just returning from lunch when the shots were fired Friday said his friends ran past him urging him to get out.
“’Run, bro, run!” Noel Desjarlais-Thomas, 16, recalled his friends saying to him as they fled La Loche’s junior and senior high school. “There’s a shotgun! There’s a shotgun! They were just yelling to me. And then I was hearing those shots too, so of course I started running.”“’Run, bro, run!” Noel Desjarlais-Thomas, 16, recalled his friends saying to him as they fled La Loche’s junior and senior high school. “There’s a shotgun! There’s a shotgun! They were just yelling to me. And then I was hearing those shots too, so of course I started running.”
The school’s Facebook page said it would remain on lockdown until the Royal Canadian Police resolve the matter. It asked the public to stay away. The RCMP said the first reports of shots being fired at the school came in around 1 p.m. Friday, and parents and residents were warned to stay away. A nearby elementary school was also placed on lockdown as a precaution.
“Words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today in La Loche. My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community,” Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said. “Words cannot express my shock and sorrow at the horrific events today in La Loche. My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, their families and friends and all the people of the community,” said Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.
Shootings at schools or on university campuses are rare in Canada. However, the country’s bloodiest shooting occurred Dec. 6, 1989, at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, when Marc Lepine entered a college classroom at the engineering school, separated the men from the women, told the men to leave and opened fire, killing 14 women before killing himself. Wall planned to visit the community on Sunday and promised to provide crisis support and counseling services.
Bobby Cameron, Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said the shooting Friday was the worst tragedy to ever hit the community. The Dene are an aboriginal group who inhabit the northern parts of Canada. Shootings at schools or on university campuses are rare in Canada. However, the country’s bloodiest mass shooting occurred Dec. 6, 1989, at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, when Marc Lepine entered a college classroom at the engineering school, separated the men from the women, told the men to leave and opened fire, killing 14 women before killing himself.
“It’s not something you ever imagine happening here. The whole community, province and country has been affected and we will all go into mourning,” said Cameron, who attended graduations at the school for the past few years.  “Right now we’re just in a state of shock and disbelief.” Bobby Cameron, Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said the shooting Friday was the worst tragedy to ever hit the community of 3,000. The Dene are an aboriginal group who inhabit the northern parts of Canada.
“It’s not something you ever imagine happening here. The whole community, province and country has been affected and we will all go into mourning,” said Cameron, who attended the La Loche school’s graduation ceremony for the past few years.  “Right now we’re just in a state of shock and disbelief.”
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman offered his condolences and noted the problem of school shootings in America.U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman offered his condolences and noted the problem of school shootings in America.
“We have experienced similar tragedies far too often in the United States and understand all too well the heartache and sadness that result,” Heyman said.“We have experienced similar tragedies far too often in the United States and understand all too well the heartache and sadness that result,” Heyman said.
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Associated Press writer Charmaine Noronha in Toronto contributed to this report.Associated Press writer Charmaine Noronha in Toronto contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.