In a ceremony filled with emotion and remembrance, the Queen’s community held a memorial on Friday to mark the 25^th anniversary of the shooting deaths of 14 women at l’École Polytechnique in Montreal.

In the annual event, 14 female engineering students, staff and faculty held red roses, lit white candles and read a brief outline of each of the victims.

Organized by fourth-year student Emily Townshend, the gathered crowd listened to speeches from Kimberly Woodhouse, Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, Annette Bergeron, past president of Professional Engineers Ontario, Principal Daniel Woolf as well as Ms. Townshend.

Twelve female engineering students, a nurse, and a faculty member were killed in the 1989 massacre.

Three years after the attack, Dec. 6 was declared Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

The event was held a day early as Dec. 6 falls on a Saturday.