Montreal gunman called himself 'angel of death'

Thegunman who went on a shootingrampage at a Montreal college Wednesday apparently left an online journal with chilling comments and photos of himself brandishing a rifle.

Kimveer Gill was the authorof an onlinediary posted at the website vampirefreaks.com.

Gill, 25, was dressed entirely in black, wearing a trench coat and armed with a rifle when he arrived at Dawson Collegeon Wednesday afternoon.

One woman was shot to death and19 people were injured, at leastsixof them critically, in the rampage that followed. Montreal police said the victims ranged in age from 17 to 48.

On Thursday, police identified the dead student asAnastasia DeSousa, an 18-year-old from the greater Montreal area, who was a business student at Dawson College.

DeSousa was shot dead inside the building,said Montreal's ambulance agency.

"The environment was still very hostile when we got there," said André Champagne, a spokesman for Urgences Santé.

Paramedics realized veryquickly that there was nothing they could do to resuscitate or revive the young woman."Her wounds were fatal, and the death was declared on site," he said.

DeSousa's body was removed from the college early Thursday morning.

Chaos on campus

Investigators with the Montreal police major crimes unit and theSûreté du Québec, the provincial police force, spent the night picking through the crime scene to collect forensic evidence.

Eyewitnesses say they saw a tall, Goth-looking man in a long black coat drive up near the college on Maisonneuve Streetin a black Pontiac Sunfire at around 12:30 p.m. He got out of his car,opened the trunk and removeda rifle.

The gunman then walkedtoward the college's southwest entrance. Witnessessaid they saw him shoot at least oneperson outside before entering the building. Policesaidthe first gunshots were heard at 12:41 p.m.

It was lunchtime and theschool was packed whenthe gunmanentered through the main doors and headed to the cafeteria. "He was shooting randomly," said Dawson student Michel Boyer, who witnessed the gunfire. "I'm not sure who he was shooting at, but the [cafeteria] atrium was completely cleared."

Chaos ensued, said Boyer. "The adrenaline was rushing. It was like something from a movie. It was completely unbelievable and incredible."

The first policeofficers were on the scene within three minutes, said Montreal police chief Yvan Delorme. By coincidence, they had been called to the college on an unrelated drug investigation.

Officers with guns drawn rushed into the building, at which pointwitnesses reported hearing more shots fired. Montreal police confirmed that theofficersexchanged gunfire with the suspect, and that the suspect was hitby at least one officer.

Police saidthe gunman died during the shootout. Preliminary autopsy results released Thursday showed Gill died of a self-inflicted wound, Quebec police said.

Panic in the streets

Pandemonium broke out inside the college and on surrounding streets minutes after the shooting began.

Hundreds of students poured out of the school, running with their heads covered. Many were crying and yelling into theircellphones, and several peoplefleeing the scene had blood stains on their clothes.

People collapsed on nearby streets as they tried to flee, and some of thoselying on the ground were trampledby others as they ran away.

While hundreds of studentssought refuge at nearby Concordia University, others hid for as longas three hours,until police with dogs escorted them out to safety.

Eyewitness Andrew Galle saidheemerged fromDawson College'scampus radio station to agruesome scene. "There was glass everywhere, and a big pile of blood, with tracks out the front door and outside the school itself," he said.

Police officers were seen dragging a bloody body out of the school about 45 minutes after the first gunshots were heard. They placed the body next to a patrol car and threw a sheet over it. Police confirmed Wednesday night that the body was that of the gunman.

Officers thensearched the school, floor by floor and room by room, amid initial fears that there might have have beenasecond gunman. The school was declared empty about three hours after the first shots were heard.

The shooting paralyzed Montreal's downtown quarter for most of the afternoon. Nearby office buildings and schools were evacuated, surrounding streets were shut down and Montreal's green subway line, which serves Dawson College, was closed for several hours. Cellphone networks were jammed because of the number of people trying to dial out from the area.

Gunman said he was 'ready for action'

Policesearched Gill's carlate Wednesday night, and visited his parents' home inFabreville,a borough in Laval, north of Montreal.

Neighbours told CBC Radio that Gill lived with his parents in the house.

Inhis profileon vampirefreaks.com, a website devoted to Goth culture, Gill called himself "Trench," and wrote: "You will come to know him as the Angel of Death."

"Work sucks … School sucks … Life sucks … What else can I say?" he wrote. "Metal and Goth kick ass. Life is like a video game, you gotta die sometime."

A photo gallery accompanying the profile includes pictures ofGill brandishing a Beretta CX4 Storm semi-automatic rifle. In the last seven photos, he is wearing a black trench coat and holding the rifle. The caption belowthelast photo reads, "Ready for Action."

School remains closed

Dawson College is closed until at least Monday,director general Robert Filion said, but added that repairs and the investigation could push that date back.

"Our first priority is to set up psychological support when we open," saidFilion. "It's not business as usual … What happened yesterday deserves to be handled with great care and Dawson will do everything it can.

"Something has been broken and we have to work together to build it anew."

About 10,000 students attend the junior college, which offers a two-year pre-university program or a three-year technical program.

Blood reserves down

The province's blood collection agency,Héma Québec, is asking for blood donors in the wake ofWednesday's shootings. The agency wants peoplewith type O-negative blood to donate Thursday, to replenish the province'sreserves.

Officials with Héma Québec said they used large quantities of the universal blood type on Wednesday to treat the victims.

Clinics are being held Thursdayin Montreal's Place Ville Marie and Place Versailles,as well as at Place Laurier in Quebec City.