December 6, 1989.
Class was in session at École Polytechnique in Montreal at around 5 p.m. when a 25-year-old man entered a classroom on the second floor.
Rifle in hand, he told the class to "stop everything," fired at the ceiling and ordered the students to separate themselves by gender.
After telling the males to leave, he approached a group of nine women and said he was "fighting feminism." When a student responded, "we are not feminists, I have never fought against men," he opened fire, killing all of them, according to a coroner's report.
From there the gunman would kill five more victims — all women — and end his own life by shooting himself in the head.
The incident came to be known as the École Polytechnique massacre, or the Montreal Massacre.
And 25 years later, people still remember the victims on Dec. 6, which now also represents the National Day of Commemoration and Action on Violence Against Women.
People remember the victims by placing 14 white roses near a plaque at the school, and by listing their names to honour them every year.
Here are the women who died that day — their names, their faces, what they studied, and where they worked when a gunman ended their lives.
(All biographical details are from Polytechnique and CBC News, unless otherwise stated.)
Geneviève Bergeron
Born: 1968
Area of study: Mechanical engineering
Geneviève Bergeron was a musician who sang in choir and played in band while attending Ecole FACE in Montreal, a classmate told Victoria News. She also played basketball and swam, reports the Canadian Press.
Hélène Colgan
Born: 1966
Area of study: Mechanical engineering
Hélène Colgan was in her last year of engineering, had a number of job offers and was looking to do a master's degree.
Nathalie Croteau
Born: 1966
Area of Study: Mechanical engineering
Nathalie Croteau had planned to vacation in Cancun, Mexico with Hélène Colgan at the end of December 1989.
Barbara Daigneault
Born: 1967
Area of study: Mechanical engineering
Engineering ran in Barbara Daigneault's family. Her father had taught mechanical engineering at l'Université du Québec à Montréal, and was a teaching assistant in his class.
Anne-Marie Edward
Born: 1968
Area of study: Chemical engineering
Anne-Marie Edward was a physically active student who loved diving and skiing.
Maud Haviernick
Born: 1960
Area of Study: Metallurgical engineering
Maud Haviernick had previously graduated with a degree in environmental design from l'Université du Québec à Montréal and was into her second year studying metallurgical engineering at Polytechnique.
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
Born: 1958
Area of Study: Nursing at l'Université de Montréal
A Polish immigrant, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz had immigrated to Montreal with her husband just two years prior.
Maryse Laganière
Born: 1964
Finance department employee
The only victim among the 14 who was not a student, Maryse Laganière was a recently-married budget clerk in Polytechnique's finance office.
Maryse Leclair
Born: 1966
Area of Study: Mechanical engineering
Maryse Leclair was a distinguished student who was only a year away from graduating when the shootings took place. Her father, police Lt. Pierre Leclair, is the one who found her.
Anne-Marie Lemay
Born: 1967
Area of Study: Mechanical engineering
Anne-Marie Lemay, 22, always wanted to help others, her mother told La Seigneurie. She initially wanted to go into medicine but didn't have the grades for it, but was happy to do engineering.
Sonia Pelletier
Born: 1961
Area of Study: Mechanical engineering
Sonia Pelletier was killed just one day before she was set to receive her mechanical engineering degree. She had been the "head of the class" while growing up in St-Ulric, in Québec's Gaspé Peninsula.
Michèle Richard
Born: 1968
Area of Study: Metallurgical engineering
A second-year student, Michèle Richard was presenting a paper with Maud Haviernick when the shootings happened.
Annie St-Arneault
Born: 1966
Area of Study: Mechanical engineering
Annie St-Arneault wrote a collection of poems that were published by her brother posthumously, La Presse reported. She was from La Tuque, Que., in the upper St-Maurice River valley, and had a job interview with Alcan Aluminium scheduled the next day, the Canadian Press reports.
Annie Turcotte
Born: 1969
Area of Study: Metallurgical engineering
Annie Turcotte, a 20-year-old student, had an environmental consciousness and wanted to protect her planet, The Montreal Gazette reported. According to CP, she lived with her brother in an apartment near the university and loved diving and swimming.
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