Daniel Levac murder raises safety concerns for students
Principal Jonathan Kakegamic mourns the death of a 7th student from his school since 2000
Nothing can replace the love and attention of a parent when it comes to keeping young people safe, according to First Nations high school principal Jonathan Kakegamic.
He was reflecting on the death of a seventh student from the school, since 2000. Daniel Randall Levac was fatally stabbed outside a movie theatre on Friday night in Thunder Bay.
"What happened Friday, it was so open, blatant and it was at one of the places where we would think our students would be safe, that's what is so shocking about it, hurtful," Kakegamic said. "That's what's different about it."
"With the other six students, we don't know what happened to them. All we know is they were found deceased, no one was around and so there are a lot of unanswered questions and that itself is a different tragedy and a different hurt," Kakegamic said.
Those six deaths, along with that of a student attending the Matawa education centre in Thunder Bay, are the subject of a coroner's inquest that could begin next year.
'You can never replace a parent's love'
The issue at the heart of all the tragedies is the same though, Kakegamic said. Students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty high school must leave their parents in order to attend secondary school.
"You can never replace a parent's love and concern," Kakegamic said, as tears streamed down his face. "That's just the reality of my students. They need to leave home every year, just to get a basic secondary education."
School officials have created an extensive safety net for students including a 24-hour on-call service if they need help. Kakegamic said he doesn't know what else to do to protect them.
"We could have had everything in place, even my staff was there [at the movie theatre], and it still happened," he said.
Kakegamic said his initial reaction after the murder was to close the school for awhile, but chiefs, parents and students convinced him not to.
"We need to keep moving forward, we can't stop, we can't quit," Kakegamic said. "That's what we're doing."
The school is expected to host a memorial for Daniel Levac this week.
Shane Patrick Ashpanaquestcum, 19, of Summer Beaver (Nibinamik) is charged with second degree murder in connection with the death. He remains in police custody.