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St. Pius X High School shooting

SOLVED1975St. Pius X High School, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On the morning of 27 October 1975, Robert Poulin, an 18-year-old student at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa, Ontario, killed his neighbor, 17-year-old Kim Rabot, a student at Glebe Collegiate Institute. Poulin lured Rabot into his bedroom at his family home, handcuffed her to his bed, raped her, and then fatally wounded her with a knife. Rabot, who was originally from Sri Lanka, had known Poulin for about three years as an acquaintance; Poulin later attributed his failure to ask her out to his own shyness, and Rabot was already in a relationship with another boy at the time of her death. The attack was briefly interrupted when Poulin's mother asked him to come eat lunch. Before leaving the house, Poulin set it on fire.

Later that day, Poulin went to St. Pius X High School and opened fire on his classmates with a shotgun. He killed 17-year-old classmate Mark Hough and wounded five others before killing himself with a shotgun blast to the head.

Poulin came from a military family and had told his parents he intended to become a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was rejected from the officer training program due to physical conditions, including poor eyesight and a pigeon chest deformity, as well as assessed psychological immaturity; he subsequently trained with a government-sponsored militia group instead. Investigators later identified Poulin as a suspect in a series of indecent assaults and attempted rapes; the description of a masked assault suspect matched Poulin, who had written that he would wear a balaclava if he committed rape. A search of his room turned up approximately 250 pornographic books and magazines, bondage photographs of women tied to bedposts, four pairs of handcuffs, women's lingerie, an inflatable sex doll, and a vibrator. Investigators also recovered a binder containing nearly one thousand separate entries detailing violent fantasies, including plans to kill his parents in a house fire and to rape girls he knew at knifepoint, along with a list of eighteen girls that included Kim Rabot. Other girls named on the list reportedly told investigators they had received obscene phone calls that stopped after the shooting.

The 1977 book "Rape of a Normal Mind" by Chris Cobb was based on the case.

Key facts

Victims
Mark Hough, Kim Rabot
Date
1975
Location
St. Pius X High School, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1975-10-27

    Robert Poulin kills his neighbor Kim Rabot at his family home in Ottawa, then sets the house on fire.

  2. 1975-10-27

    Poulin opens fire with a shotgun at St. Pius X High School, killing classmate Mark Hough and wounding five others before killing himself.

  3. 1977

    The book 'Rape of a Normal Mind' by Chris Cobb, based on the shooting, is published.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Mark Hough

    VICTIM

    17-year-old St. Pius X High School classmate killed by Robert Poulin during the shooting.

  • Robert Poulin

    CONVICTED

    18-year-old student identified as the perpetrator of the killing of Kim Rabot and the shooting at St. Pius X High School; died by suicide at the scene.

  • Kim Rabot

    VICTIM

    17-year-old Glebe Collegiate Institute student killed by Robert Poulin at his family home prior to the school shooting.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On 27 October 1975, 18-year-old Robert Poulin killed his neighbor Kim Rabot at his family home in Ottawa, then opened fire with a shotgun at St. Pius X High School, killing classmate Mark Hough and wounding five others before killing himself.
Where did the shooting happen?
St. Pius X High School, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Who was convicted?
Robert Poulin (18-year-old student identified as the perpetrator of the killing of Kim Rabot and the shooting at St. Pius X High School; died by suicide at the scene.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICSt. Pius X High School shootingWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — CBC NewsCBC News · 2026-07-07
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — thestar.comthestar.com · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 07, 2026