Transcript The OC Transpo Incident

The OC Transpo Incident
• Timeline
• July 1994
» Lebrun is diagnosed as paranoid by his doctor
• Sometime in 1997
» Lebrun takes course to help with speech impediment
• August 1997
» Lebrun punches co-worker. He is moved to another
work site and forced to take an anger management
course.
The OC Transpo Incident
• Timeline
• March 1999
» Lebrun writes in diary that union officials were
following him while he was on vacation
• April 6, 1999
» Lebrun kills co-workers and self.
The OC Transpo Incident
• Psychology
• Question
» What factors in his personality caused him to commit
the crime?
• Assumption
» personality is shaped by a combination of biological
factors and prior life experiences
• Explanation
» It appears that Lebrun was suffering from a mental
illness characterized by growing feelings of paranoia
and persecution.
The OC Transpo Incident
• Sociology
• Question
» What common factors are there in the lives of people
who have gone on shooting sprees at their former
place of work?
• Assumption
» an individual’s acts can only be explained when they
are compared with the acts of similar individuals
• Explanation
» Like others who have committed similar acts of
violence, Lebrun was a loner, had anger management
issues, was unpopular with fellow workers,
experienced much frustration and poor self-esteem
and had access to a weapon.
The OC Transpo Incident
• Anthropology
• Question
» What were the values of the cultures in which Lebrun
grew up and later worked?
• Assumption
» there are factors in the wider Canadian culture and in
the particular culture at OC Transpo that influenced
the tragic shooting spree.
The OC Transpo Incident
• Anthropology
• Explanation
» Canadians are inundated with scenes of violence in
sports, the media, etc. The atmosphere at OC Transpo
featured considerable hostility, aggressions, and low
morale. The prevailing culture was somewhat
aggressive and male-oriented. Lebrun endured much
harsh criticism and ridicule and fought back with
violence.
The OC Transpo Incident
• Which of the approaches to the incident to
you believe provides the most convincing
explanation?
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Anthropology
• Be prepared to defend your answer.