The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.
Marc Lpine (French: [mak lepin]; born Gamil Rodrigue Liass Gharbi; October 26, 1964 December 6, 1989) was a Canadian antifeminist mass murderer from Montreal, Quebec, who, in 1989, murdered fourteen women, and wounded ten women and four men at the cole Polytechnique de Montral, an engineering school affiliated with the Universit de Montral, in the cole Polytechnique massacre.Lpine was born in Montreal, the son of Canadian nurse Monique Lpine and Algerian businessman Rachid Gharbi. Gharbi was abusive towards and contemptuous of women, and left the relationship after Monique returned to nursing to support her children; Lpine was seven at the time. Lpine and his younger sister lived with other families, seeing their mother on weekends. Lpine was considered bright but withdrawn, and had difficulties with peer and family relationships. He legally changed his name at the age of 14 giving "hatred of his father" as the reason.
Lpine's application to the Canadian Forces was rejected, and in 1982 he began a science program at a college, switching to a more technical program after one year. In 1986 he dropped out of the course in his final term, and was subsequently fired from his job at a hospital due to his poor attitude. Lpine began a computer programming course in 1988, and again abandoned it before completion. He twice applied for admission to the cole Polytechnique, but lacked two required compulsory courses.
Lpine had long complained about women working in "non-traditional" jobs. After several months of planning, including the purchase of a semi-automatic rifle, he entered the cole Polytechnique on the afternoon of December 6, 1989, separated the men from the women in a classroom, and shot the women, while yelling, "I hate feminists", claiming that he was "fighting feminism". He then moved into other parts of the building, targeting only the women, before killing himself. His suicide note blamed feminists for ruining his life.
Lpine's actions have been variously ascribed from a psychiatry perspective with diagnoses such as personality disorder, psychosis, or attachment disorder, noting societal factors such as poverty, isolation, powerlessness, and violence in the media. The massacre is regarded by criminologists as an example of a hate crime against women, and by feminists and government officials as a misogynist attack and an example of the larger issue of violence against women. December 6 is now observed in Canada as a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.
The École Polytechnique massacre (French: tuerie de l'École polytechnique), also known as the Montreal massacre, was a 1989 antifeminist mass shooting at the École Polytechnique de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec. Fourteen women were murdered; 10 further women and four men were injured.
On December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine, armed with a legally obtained semi-automatic rifle and hunting knife, entered a mechanical engineering class at the École Polytechnique. He ordered the women to one side of the classroom, and instructed the men to leave. After claiming that he was "fighting feminism", he shot all nine women in the room, killing six. The shooter then moved through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, specifically targeting women to shoot for just under 20 minutes. He killed eight more women before committing suicide.
After the attack, Canadians debated various interpretations of the events, their significance, and the shooter’s motives. The massacre is now widely regarded as an anti-feminist attack and representative of wider societal violence against women; the anniversary of the massacre is commemorated as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Other interpretations emphasize the shooter's abuse as a child or suggest that the massacre was the isolated act of a madman, unrelated to larger social issues.
The incident led to more stringent gun control laws in Canada, and increased action to end violence against women. It also resulted in changes in emergency services protocols to shootings, including immediate, active intervention by police. These changes which were later credited with minimizing casualties during incidents in Montreal and elsewhere.