Montreal killer obsessed with guns, death

The gunman who went on a shooting spree at a Montreal college, killing one woman and wounding 19 other people, had an obsession with guns and death, according to his online journal.

Montreal's police chief, Yvan Delorme, confirmed yesterday that the gunman, who died at the scene after a shootout with police on Wednesday afternoon, was Kimveer Gill, a 25-year-old man from a Montreal suburb.

On a website devoted to Goth culture, Gill said his credo was: "Live fast, die young and leave a mutilated corpse."

Calling himself Trench, he wrote on the site, www.vampirefreaks.com, that he loved guns and hated people.

Eyewitnesses at the shooting scene in downtown Montreal said the gunman wore a black trenchcoat and boots and his hair was cut in a punk Mohawk style, close-cropped on the sides. Montreal health officials said that among the 19 people wounded, six were in critical condition from gunshot wounds including two who were in danger for their lives. The victims' ages ranged from 17 to 48.

The shooting took place in and around Dawson College, an English-language school with about 10,000 students aged between 16 and 19, in the centre of Canada's second biggest city.

Eyewitnesses said Gill began shooting outside the college at 12.41 p.m. (1641 GMT) on Wednesday, before going through its main doors to continue firing in all directions inside.

Police, who arrived at the scene almost immediately because they had been in the area on another call, followed him inside. Gill died after exchanging gunfire with police.

On his English blog, under the Fatality666 name he used on the website, Gill posted several photographs showing him brandishing guns and a hunting knife.

One photo shows the tall, thin man dressed in a black trenchcoat and holding an automatic weapon. It carries the caption: Ready for Action.

"Anger and hatred simmers within me," reads another photo caption.

In another photo, Gill holds a black weapon he describes as a CX4 Storm semi-automatic carbine, which is made by Beretta. In another, he brandishes an automatic weapon, admitting: "I think I have an obsession with guns."