Nine dead, 27 wounded in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., school shooting; suspect also dead, RCMP says
Nine people were killed and 27 wounded in a mass shooting that centered on a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, marking one of the deadliest acts of violence in the province in recent years. The suspected shooter is also dead, police said.
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RCMP said seven people were killed at the school. Officers found six victims shot dead during a sweep of the building; a seventh person with a gunshot wound died while being taken to a hospital. Separately, police discovered two more bodies at a residence in Tumbler Ridge that investigators believe is connected to the attack.
Authorities said the suspected shooter appears to have taken their own life at the school. The RCMP declined to release the suspect’s identity at a news conference. Canadian media reported the shooter was female, but police did not confirm that detail. It was not immediately clear whether the suspected shooter is included in the nine fatalities announced by police.
Among the 27 wounded, two suffered serious injuries and 25 had non-life-threatening injuries, according to the RCMP.
The violence unfolded in Tumbler Ridge, a mountain valley community of about 2,400 people in the foothills of the Rockies, more than 1,100 kilometers north of Vancouver. The municipality said in a statement, “There are no words sufficient for the heartbreak our community is experiencing tonight,” adding that the town is “devastated by the loss of life and the profound impact this tragedy has had on families, students, staff, and our entire town.”
Darian Quist, a student at the school, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. he was in a mechanics class when a lockdown was announced. At first, he said, he “didn’t think anything was going on,” but then he began receiving “disturbing” images that made clear the scale of the attack. After more than two hours, police stormed the classroom, ordering students to put their hands up before escorting them out of the building, Quist said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the shootings, calling them “horrific” in a post on social media. He offered “prayers and deepest condolences” to the families and friends of the victims and suspended his planned trip to the Munich Security Conference. British Columbia Premier David Eby called the attack “unimaginable.” Federal opposition leader Pierre Poilievre condemned it as a “senseless act of violence.”
RCMP Northern District Commander Ken Floyd described the incident as “a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation” and thanked the public for cooperating as officers continued door-to-door searches. Police said they were examining other homes and properties in the area to determine whether additional sites were connected to the shooting.
Mass shootings are rare in Canada, though the country has grappled with deadly incidents in recent years. In April, 11 people were killed in Vancouver in a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival.
The RCMP said additional information would be released as the investigation develops. Local leaders urged residents to support one another and to seek counseling services as they become available.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
