Kimveer Singh Gill was born on July 9, 1981, in Lachine, Quebec, to parents of Punjabi descent who had immigrated to Canada earlier that year. The family later settled in the Fabreville area of Laval, where Gill attended Twin Oaks Elementary and Rosemere High School. Contrary to early media portrayals, classmates and teachers described him as academically competent, soft-spoken, and not someone who was visibly bullied.

After graduating in 1998, he briefly enrolled at Vanier College but dropped out within a year. In January 1999, Gill joined the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School but was voluntarily discharged after only a month. Though his exact reasons for leaving remain unclear, the military found him unsuitable for service, and he received no formal weapons training.

He later became a member of a rifle club and legally obtained several firearms under Canada’s gun laws. Gill spent much of his time online and was active on the gothic social networking site VampireFreaks, where he used the handle “fatality666.” His profile revealed a growing obsession with violence, death, and the Columbine massacre. His final blog posts—written just hours before the shooting—reflected intense nihilism, anger toward society, and admiration for past school shooters.

On September 13, 2006, around 12:30 p.m., Kimveer Gill parked his black Pontiac Sunfire near Dawson College in downtown Montreal. Carrying three guns—a Beretta Cx4 Storm carbine, a Glock pistol, and a shotgun—he forced a passerby to carry a bag containing ammunition and another firearm. Gill then opened fire on students outside the de Maisonneuve entrance of the school.

He proceeded into the school, walking directly toward the cafeteria where students were eating. Once inside, he took a corner position and began shooting. He reportedly ordered students to lie on the ground before continuing to fire at random. Within minutes, two Montreal police officers, who happened to be on campus for another matter, heard the gunfire and ran toward the scene. Confronted by police, Gill briefly took hostages before being shot in the arm. He then turned his pistol on himself and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at 12:48 p.m.

The attack lasted just under 20 minutes. Eighteen-year-old student Anastasia De Sousa was killed after being shot nine times. Nineteen others were wounded, with at least six undergoing emergency surgery. One male victim was shot in the head and remained in a coma for several weeks.

Investigators later found that Gill had fired 72 rifle rounds and 6 pistol rounds. His suicide note and online writings revealed admiration for Columbine shooters and intense personal disillusionment. A bag left behind at the crime scene contained a fourth firearm and more ammunition, which he had intended to use.

In the aftermath, authorities confirmed the attack was premeditated. Gill had scouted the location weeks before, and even left an apology note to his family. He was not affiliated with Dawson College, and police found no evidence of specific targets.

The incident shocked Canada and reignited debates over mental health, gun control, and the glorification of violence online. A later study showed that nearly one-third of students at Dawson suffered from PTSD and other mental health conditions after the shooting. Kimveer Gill’s actions left a deep scar on Montreal and sparked national conversations on how to detect and prevent such tragedies in the future.