I wonder if I could have done more.
As Kimveer Gill's English teacher at Rosemere High School in 1995, I wonder if I should have known that one day this quiet, isolated boy would shoot and kill students at Dawson College in Montreal.
Similar soul-searching questions torment those who had even minimal contact with him, although the real question should be why he did it, not what others did or didn't do. In the sombre aftermath of another school shooting — one that claimed a young life — blame must be assigned to Mr. Gill and not to those on the periphery of his life.
By some inside-outside logic, the media, society, friends and former acquaintances have all turned Mr. Gill into a victim. The blame game has taken centre stage and suddenly, and erroneously, it takes a village to raise a killer.
The first to be blamed for his rampage were the bullies who tormented him in high school. When Mr. Gill wrote on his vampirefreaks.com blog, "I might forget but I never forgive," to whom else could he have been referring? When he wrote of hating bullies and teachers, it seemed obvious that, once again, a child had been bullied and passive teachers and a passive administration were to blame.
The only problem is that three of his high-school friends denied that he was ever bullied. He may not have fit in with the popular group and he may have been a loner, but he wasn't bullied.
The next scapegoats were his grieving parents and his younger twin brothers. His parents were too strict, some hinted. Bashir Hussain, the executive director of the Alliance of South Asian Communities, blamed harsh discipline that might promote violence and lead to alienation.
Perhaps his parents were just too blind and uninvolved. How could Gurvinder Gill and Parvinder Sandhu not have known what their son was doing, isolated in the basement and addicted to violent computer games? They should have seen the warning signs. They should have snooped more, read his handwritten diary and on-line blogs, and been generally more aware of his dark mood and activities.
But people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. It's difficult to penetrate the enigma of adolescence and young adulthood. To monitor everything a child does in cyberspace or in the real world can be mission impossible.
Then the gun club in Ville St-Pierre where Mr. Gill honed his shooting skills was blamed. The Club de Tir de Ville St-Pierre is ironically the same place where another Montreal school shooter named Valery Fabrikant took courses. Obviously, a club that attracts two killers is negligent. But Mr. Gill's guns were purchased legally and target practice is not illegal. He passed the firearms safety course and did all the right things to earn his licence.
Then Canada's gun registry was blamed. If someone as unbalanced as Mr. Gill could obtain guns, the registry must be at fault. Its followup procedures were too lax and post-registration screening was to blame.
The goth community that Mr. Gill so admired and the violent music and video games that he was so attracted to were also used as scapegoats. Dawson College's security was at fault, said others. Where were the metal detectors and the armed security guards? Schools should not be open houses.
But the litany of blame omitted someone, and there's only one person who should be blamed for Kimveer Gill's school rampage on Sept. 14.
Only one angel of death can dance on the head of this pin of sorrow and that is Kimveer Gill.
He is responsible for shooting 20 students and killing 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa. He should not be permitted to become a victim.
Freda Lewkowicz is a Montreal teacher.
