St. Pius X High School shooting
1975 school shooting in Ottawa, Canada
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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 had lured a 17-year-old Sri Lankan female neighbour named Kim Rabot to his family's home before raping her and stabbing her to death.[4] That afternoon, he had travelled to the St. Pius X High School to embark upon his shooting spree.
| 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 |
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
- Robert Joseph Bedard, religion teacher at the time of the shooting
- Brampton Centennial Secondary School shooting, Canada's first recorded school shooting