GG bravery award for Dawson College students, police

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean will award decorations of bravery to six people whose efforts helped end a violent rampage at Montreal's Dawson College two years ago.

Dawson student Anastasia De Sousa was killed and 20 other people were wounded when lone gunman Kimveer Gill sprayed bullets at the downtown campus on Sept. 13, 2006.

Jean will honour student James Santos with the Star of Courage for distracting Gill and trying to convince him to surrender.

Santos has said he held 18-year-old De Sousa in his arms after she had been shot several times with a semi-automatic weapon. He said he begged Gill to let her go.

School employees Yves Morin and Vincent Pascale, and Montreal police officers Marco Barcarolo, Denis Côté and Alain Diallo will receive medals of bravery for their actions.

The shooting came to an end inside Dawson's atrium when Const. Côté shot Gill, who then turned the gun on himself.

Jean will award the decorations at a ceremony on Sept. 19 at Ottawa's Rideau Hall.

She announced Monday that a total of four Stars of Courage and 49 Medals of Bravery have been awarded for different acts of courage across the country.