St. Pius X High School shooting
St. Pius X High School shooting | |
---|---|
Location | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
Date | October 27, 1975 |
Attack type | |
Weapons | |
Deaths | 3 (including the perpetrator) |
Injured | 5 |
Perpetrator | Robert Poulin |
The St. Pius X High School shooting occurred on October 27, 1975, at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa, Ontario. It was Canada's second recorded school shooting. The gunman, Robert Poulin, an 18-year-old St. Pius student, opened fire on his classmates with a shotgun, killing a 17-year-old classmate named Mark Hough and wounding five others before killing himself with a shotgun blast to the head.[1][2][3] Earlier that day, Poulin lured a 17-year-old Sri Lankan female neighbor named Kim Rabot to his family's home before raping her and stabbing her to death.[4] That afternoon, he had traveled to the St. Pius X High School to embark upon his shooting spree.
Poulin was from a military family and held military aspirations of his own, repeatedly telling his parents of his desire to become a pilot within the Royal Canadian Air Force. These were largely thwarted by his physical condition and psychological immaturity, resulting in his being rejected from the officer training program. His physical problems included poor eyesight and a chest deformity.
Poulin had been suicidal for at least three years prior to the attack and was obsessed with sex and pornography, having repeatedly written in his diaries about his desire to experience sex before he died.[5]
A book entitled Rape of a Normal Mind[6] was later written about the incident.
See also
[edit]- Brampton Centennial Secondary School shooting, Canada's first recorded school shooting
References
[edit]- ^ "Shooting violence in Canadian schools 1975-2007". The Star. 23 May 2007. Archived from the original on 23 Nov 2007.
- ^ ""Fr. Bob Bedard: no big car, but he's happy (Companions of the Cross).."". Catholic Insight. July 1, 1997 – via The Free Library.
- ^ "Winnipeg woman who survived Ottawa school shooting reflects on La Loche attack". CBC News. January 24, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ St. Pius X shooting survivor reflects on Newtown killings
- ^ Langman, Peter F. "Expanding the Sample: Five School Shooters" (PDF). pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
- ^ Cobb, Christopher and Avery, Bob. (1977). Rape of a Normal Mind. Toronto: Paperjacks.ISBN 0-7701-0025-2
Cited works and further reading
[edit]- Cawthorne, Nigel; Tibballs, Jeffrey (1994). Killers. Boxtree. pp. 265–270. ISBN 0-7522-0850-0.
- Cobb, Chris (1977). Rape of a Normal Mind. Paper Jacks. ISBN 978-0-770-10025-4.
- Mellor, Lee (2013). Rampage: Canadian Mass Murder and Spree Killing. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-459-70722-1.
External links
[edit]- 28 October 1975 edition of the Ottawa Sun
- 2012 Ottawa Sun interview with St. Pius X High School shooting survivor Barclay Holbrook
- 1970s in Ottawa
- 1975 in Ontario
- 1975 mass shootings in North America
- 1975 murders in Canada
- Attacks on buildings and structures in 1975
- Attacks on schools in the 1970s
- Crime in Ottawa
- Deaths by firearm in Ontario
- Femicide
- High school shootings
- Incidents of violence against girls
- Mass shootings in Ontario
- Mass shootings involving shotguns
- Murder committed by minors
- Murder–suicides in Canada
- October 1975 events in Canada
- Rape in Canada
- Rape in the 1970s
- School killings in Canada
- School shootings committed by pupils
- School shootings in Canada
- Stabbing attacks in 1975
- Stabbing attacks in Canada
- Violence against women in Ontario