A Student in Canada Kills Four People

A student's action in central Canada resulted in the deaths of two brothers and then his schoolmates, leaving at least four dead. According to Agence France-Presse, this incident occurred on Friday, February 21. Several students were also seriously injured. The student responsible for these killings is currently in police custody. One of the deceased is a 23-year-old female teacher named "Mary January," who was the daughter of the deputy mayor of the town. The Prime Minister of Canada also confirmed that the assailant, armed with a weapon, attacked his school and was arrested outside the school while still carrying the weapon. The school where the attack took place is named "Dean" in the town of La Loche in Saskatchewan. The attack occurred on one of the harsh snowy days in central Canada, instilling great fear among students and school officials; 900 students in middle and high school attend "Dean." Witnesses reported "horrific screams and cries" from the students. The leader of 70 local Native tribes stated that the injured students are in deep shock and have witnessed a "tragic disaster." A student named Noel, who survived, posted photos and videos taken during the attack on social media. In this video, it can be seen that the assailant is fighting hard with one of his classmates but says, "Just an hour ago, I killed two others." Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, who was at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland at the time of the attack, held a press conference stating that this student's action is "the worst nightmare for any parent." The Prime Minister also tweeted: "The hearts of the people of Canada are broken, and we express solidarity with the grieving families and the injured." Mr. Trudeau personally spoke on the phone with local officials to learn about the details but stated that the interrogation of the assailant is still in its early stages. According to reports, Kevin January, the deputy mayor of La Loche, whose daughter was killed, said another victim was one of the teacher's aides. Police officials have not released the name of the attacker, but a resident of La Loche told reporters that he knew the student's family and that the student's mother had gone to work while the grandfather, who lived with them, had left the house to shop. During this time, the assailant killed his two brothers and apparently immediately went to school in anger. The town of La Loche, with a population of three thousand, is deep in the forests of central Canada, 600 kilometers from the nearest city, Saskatoon, and is considered a remote area. The unemployment rate in these areas has been reported to be as high as fifty percent; Canadian officials say that crime is prevalent in these areas. One of the teachers in La Loche expressed concern about the continuation of such violence by students following a student's knife attack in 2014. However, this type of violence, which is relatively common in the U.S., is still rare in a country like Canada; although in December 1989, 14 students at a technical school in Montreal were killed in a shooting by a 25-year-old man. Gun purchase and possession laws in Canada are much stricter compared to the U.S. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Canada stated on Friday that his Liberal government will revisit gun control laws in the coming weeks to implement further measures.