A young woman was killed as a result of a shooting rampage at a Montreal college Wednesday. The suspected shooter, a 25-year-old Quebec man, died after a police confrontation.

The shooting at Dawson College also left 19 injured and many in emotional shock.

Police direct students away from the shooting scene at Dawson College in Montreal on Wednesday.
(Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)

Police Chief Yvan Delorme told RDI television that a woman in her twenties had died.

Lieut. François Doré of Sûreté de Québec told CBC News the man was born in Quebec and lived in the Montreal area, but his identity is being withheld. An autopsy will be performed on him as soon as possible, he said.

Doré said the suspected shooter's car and residence would be part of the initial stages of the investigation, with police hoping to learn more about his history, and possibly, an apparent motive.

Police direct a running man to take cover during the shooting at Dawson College in downtown Montreal.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

"There is no racist connotation or no terrorist link as far as we know," Delorme said.

The gunman died minutes after he opened fire on the student body at Dawson, a CEGEP serving about 10,000 students near the storied Montreal Forum.

While it was reported earlier in the day that police fatally shot the man, Doré backed off somewhat from that conclusion. 

A woman is taken from the shooting scene to a waiting ambulance.
(Paul Chiasson/ Canadian Press)

"We know that shots were fired, both by this man and the police," he said. "We know that he suffered multiple injuries and we will know during the autopsy, hopefully, what exactly are the shots or shot that killed him."

The Quebec provincial police are investigating the gunman's death, as is required by law for any fatal incident involving a police officer.

Montreal General Hospital chief of clinical operations Ann Lynch said eight patients from the school were in critical condition, with six requiring surgery.

"The nature of the injuries are all gunshot wounds to the abdomen, to the chest, one head injury and also several to the limbs, peripheral limbs, arms and legs," said Lynch.

The hospital said it would not issue a further statement on the victims' conditions until early Thursday.

Three other victims were taken to Jean Talon Hospital and two others were transported to the Jewish General Hospital.

The victims included women and men, officials said.

The suspect reportedly walked into Dawson College around 12:41 p.m. ET and began firing at students in the cafeteria. Police arrived three minutes later.

"They saw a suspect shooting inside the walls of Dawson," Delorme told a news conference. "So the first policeman took charge of the situation, and shot in the direction of the suspect, and the suspect died."

Television images showed police officers dragging a bloody body out of the main doors of the building, leaving a trail of blood on the street.

Earlier reports had said as many as three shooters walked into Dawson College. At one point, police had told local media outlets that two gunmen were dead and a third was still at large.

Montreal police said they now believe only one suspect was involved in the shooting rampage that terrorized the college students and staff.

'I thought this was fake'

Students inside Dawson College told reporters they heard several shots in the building just after lunchtime.

Eyewitnesses say they saw a tall skinny man, wearing a black trench coat and sporting a Mohawk haircut, walk into the cafeteria carrying a large gun. He apparently fired several shots.

Student Michel Boyer sought shelter behind a reception desk after seeing a gunman and fleeing from the vicinity of the shootings.

"I thought this was fake, and it was just an excuse to get out of class," he told CBC Newsworld. "I did run away as soon as I did see that it was real."

His voice shaking, he added, "It was the most scary thing that has ever happened to me."

Boyer said he saw at least one man holding a gun.

"I'm only 19 and to have flashes of your life and the people that you love going by you, it should not be allowed."

Arielle Reid, an office co-ordinator in the Dawson College students' association, said she was in her office when the shooting began.

"I heard the shots and a student ran into my office," the Dawson College graduate told CBC Newsworld. "People don't know what is going on and they don't know what to do."

Students flee building

Hundreds of students fled the building, and the area was cordoned off. Police officers wearing bulletproof vests kept people away from the college. People were seen running down the streets, crying and talking on their cellphones.

"They're telling me, 'Go the other way, lady, you're in the line of fire,'" said CBC News reporter Nancy Wood at the scene.

Hundreds of officers surrounded the building in downtown Montreal, cordoning off a park facing the school, as well as the Alexis Nihon Plaza, a nearby shopping centre.

Police finished combing the college floor by floor and room by room to secure the building more than three hours after the first shots were heard. They set up a security perimeter that spanned Atwater, Sherbrooke and Maisonneuve streets.

Public transit officials temporarily closed the subway system's green line, which serves Dawson College, in order to allow a SWAT team to sweep the underground stations. They reopened the line three hours after the shooting, although the Atwater stop, which serves the college, remained closed Wednesday night.

Similarities to notorious Montreal shooting

The shooting raised chilling memories of Dec. 6, 1989, when 25-year-old Marc Lepine gunned down 14 women at Montreal's École Polytechnique before fatally shooting himself.

Lepine roamed the school for 45 minutes, shouting, "I hate feminists," as he opened fire on the female engineering students.

His use of a 30-round magazine brought immediate calls for gun control. In response, the federal government introduced a national firearms registry.

Dawson students sheltered nearby

During the Dawson College shootings, students and staff sought refuge at nearby Concordia University. 

The university's student union is running an emergency centre at the D.B Clarke auditorium at 1455 de Maisonneuve St. W., where psychologists are on hand to assist Dawson students and staff.

Medical workers with a local CLSC health clinic are also at Concordia to provide advice and support to people fleeing the shooting scene. 

Students and staff will be in shock and will experience symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, one worker told Radio-Canada's French television network. It's crucial that they talk about their experience and express their emotions, she said Wednesday.

Family members of Dawson College students can call (514) 280-2880 or (514) 280-2806 for more information, police said.