Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-13 · by Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman The Canadian Press
James Santos, now a Montreal police officer, reflects on surviving a school shooting at Dawson College in 2006 where his friend Anastasia De Sousa was killed and 16 others were injured. At age 17, Santos used deception to stall the shooter while others escaped until police intervened. The incident occurred exactly two decades ago, leaving a lasting impact on Santos who credits the responding officers with saving his life that day.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Two decades ago, James Santos saw his friend die in a shooting at a Montreal college.
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friend → see → college
Now, he is a Montreal police officer, working for the force he says saved his life that day.
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he → work → life
Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of the shooting.
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Sunday → mark → shooting
On Sept. 13, 2006, a gunman entered Dawson college and opened fire on students in the hall.
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gunman → enter → hall
He killed 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa and injured 16 others, according to a coroner’s report from 2008.
Santos, then a 17-year-old student, was having lunch with De Sousa that day.
uncertain
Santos → kill → Sousa
The cafeteria was packed and the two found a free table close to the entrance, he recalled in an interview with The Canadian Press.
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he → pack → Press
“We were talking about our weekend and what we did and we had laughs — and then, all of a sudden, I see the shooter walk in,” he said.
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he → talk → laughs
When he realized the man had a real weapon, Santos dove behind some chairs.
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Santos → realize → chairs
De Sousa, who couldn’t see the shooter, stood up.
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who → see → shooter
“She turned around facing the shooter and basically one of the first shots was directed to my friend,” recalled Santos.
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Santos → turn → friend
Thinking De Sousa fainted, Santos crawled over to drag her to cover.
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Santos → think → cover
“That’s when I realized she got hit by one of the rounds near the abdomen.
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she → ’ → abdomen
So I tried to console her, tell her that I was next to her and that everything will be alright,” he said.
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he → try → her
Soon, the shooter turned his attention back to Santos.
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shooter → turn → Santos
He told Santos to get up and get in front of him, essentially acting as a human shield.
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He → tell → shield
Santos obeyed.
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Santos → obey → ?
“I didn’t want to anger him because I believed that Anastasia was still there, and I also had other friends that were trapped,” he said.
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he → want → friends
He tried to talk the shooter down.
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He → try → shooter
At that moment, Santos recalled, he accepted that he would die.
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he → recall → moment
“I just didn’t want to take other students with me,” he said.
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he → want → me
He fed the shooter white lies about the layout of the school, telling him one corridor led to a janitor’s closet or that another led nowhere.
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another → feed → closet
When the shooter asked Santos how De Sousa was doing, Santos didn’t know what to say.
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Santos → ask → what
At that point, he still hoped his friend was alive.
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friend → hop → point
So he told the shooter that he wasn’t sure and asked him to let him get her help.
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him → tell → help
“He didn’t say anything — he just loaded his magazine into a semi automatic and walked over to her, he unloaded all his 12 rounds on her, and then he came back and he told me, ‘Well, now you have nothing to worry about,’” said Santos.
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Santos → say → nothing
Santos froze.
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Santos → freeze → ?
Later, when the shooter held another student at gunpoint, Santos snapped, yelling at the shooter to leave the student be.
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Santos → hold → student
“I think I had enough with everything.
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I → think → everything
Enough with the gunshots, the blood, the screaming of the students, just all of it,” said Santos.
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Santos → say → it
“The shooter didn’t say anything, he just laughed.”
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he → say → anything
The shooter spared that other student.
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shooter → spar → student
Moments later, police shot him in the leg.
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police → shoot → leg
Santos was sure the angered gunman would shoot him.
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gunman → anger → him
Instead, the shooter killed himself.
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shooter → kill → himself
Santos ran off.
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Santos → run → ?
He thought it had been hours since De Sousa was killed and the ordeal began.
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ordeal → think → ?
“I found out a little later on that it was a dozen minutes that passed by,” he said.
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he → find → ?
In 2008, then-Governor General of Canada Michaelle Jean awarded Santos the Star of Courage for his actions that day.
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Jean → award → actions
Dawson College commemorated the shooting on Friday in a ceremony that brought De Sousa’s family, survivors and students together in the school’s Peace Garden.
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that → commemorate → Garden
Loved ones remembered De Sousa’s cheerful and resilient character.
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ones → remember → character
…and 29 more, not listed.
