Nearly twenty years after being shot three times, Hayder Kadhim still asks himself why he survived and not his friend Anastasia. He spoke to a crowd gathered at Dawson College commemorating the Sept. 13, 2006 shooting that killed 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa and injured 19 others. The shooter also died at the scene. After the ceremony, De Sousa’s mother helped plant three pink heather plants in her honour. Students, politicians and faculty also took handfuls of flower seeds to plant in the college’s garden. Louise De Sousa says she still thinks about her daughter every day, wondering what kind of woman Anastasia would have become. She is also calling on the government to tighten gun control laws. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2026.
