Survivors and families of victims of Dawson College shooting gather 20 years later

MONTREAL – Nearly 20 years after being shot three times, Hayder Kadhim still asks himself why he survived and not his friend Anastasia.

On Sept. 13, 2006, a gunman entered the Montreal college where he was studying and opened fire on students in the hall. Kadhim, then 17 years old, was shot in the head, neck and calf. 

Today, he says it’s crucial for people to take care of one another.

“Maybe just these small gestures could prevent a tragedy from happening and some lonely and depressed person from waking up with crazy thoughts, just because one of us did a small gesture of care,” he said.

He spoke to a crowd gathered in the garden at Dawson College commemorating the shooting that killed 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa. Sixteen others were injured in the attack, according to a coroner’s report from 2008. 

The gunman killed himself after being shot by police. 

Kadhim remembers Anastasia, whom he affectionately nicknamed Stacy, as someone cheerful, fun-loving and with a gorgeous smile. He says he remains inspired by Anastasia’s resilience, as she struggled with her health as a teenager.

“When I remember her now and knowing that, how can I not also push through? How can I also not try as much as possible to have that positive vibe?” he said.

The garden where the ceremony was held was named the Peace Garden in the aftermath of the attack, according to Toby Harper-Merrett, the director of Dawson College. 

Harper-Merrett said students, faculty and members of the Montreal community would regularly leave bouquets at the school gates. A white post with black lettering that reads “May peace prevail on Earth” was installed in the garden.

After the ceremony, Louise De Sousa, Anastasia’s mother, helped plant three pink heather plants in her honour. Students, politicians and faculty also took handfuls of wildflower seeds to plant in the garden.

De Sousa wore a pink lace dress in honour of her daughter. 

“Pink was her favourite colour. Her friends in high school called her Malibu Barbie,” she told journalists after the ceremony. “Even her room was bubblegum pink.” 

De Sousa says she still thinks about her daughter every day, wondering what kind of woman Anastasia would have become. 

“Would she be married, would she have children?” she mused. 

She added that she especially misses her daughter during big family milestones.

“Two years ago when my son got married, it really hit me that his big sister wasn’t there. So, there are moments that are harder than others, but life goes on. And we talk about her and that’s what keeps us going,” she said. 

De Sousa said anniversaries are always emotional but that it’s comforting to spend time commemorating the tragedy with the other victims and families. 

But Sunday will be different. 

“That day is mine,” she said. 

Every year, De Sousa and her family visit Anastasia’s grave on the hour of her death. They then share stories about Anastasia over a meal. De Sousa says her grandkids still get to know their aunt even though they never met her. 

“She was a normal teenager,” she said. “She had a beautiful smile, and she was fun and loving, but she was also a little brat…. We remember everything that she did. That’s how we continue.” 

De Sousa is also calling on the federal government to tighten gun control laws. She was one of the signatories of a letter sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this week demanding the government complete its ban on assault-style firearms and tighten rules around large-capacity magazines and handguns. 

During the ceremony, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada and police Chief Fady Dagher drew parallels between the Dawson tragedy and a shooting in June that left a police officer, a bystander and the gunman dead. 

“This kind of weapon that’s in circulation, assault weapons, we can’t afford it in Canada, not in this community in which we live,” said Dagher. 

Ian Lafrenière, Quebec’s internal security minister, was working as a spokesperson for Montreal police in 2006. He remembers his partner, brother and best friend — all police officers — were sent to the scene of the Dawson shooting.

He said he was emotional seeing the faces of young students who may not have been born at the time attending the ceremony. 

“To see the next generations here and to continue to keep this memory alive, it reassures me,” he said. “We’ll never forget what happened, because this is the only way to prevent that from happening in the future.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2026.

Note to readers:This is a corrected story: A previous version said that 19 people were injured in the Dawson shooting. A coroner’s report from 2008 said that 16 people were injured in the shooting.