A gunman killed nine people and injured 27 others in a shocking attack at a secondary school and a nearby residence in the remote mountain town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Tuesday, before taking their own life, authorities confirmed.
The violence unfolded Tuesday afternoon after police received reports of an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, a campus serving the small community nestled in a picturesque valley in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said officers responding to the scene discovered six people shot dead inside the school. A seventh victim with a gunshot wound later died while being transported to hospital. Two additional bodies were found at a residence in the town, which police believe is connected to the incident.
At the school, officers located an individual believed to be the shooter, deceased from what authorities described as an apparent self-inflicted injury.
A total of 27 people were wounded in the attack. Two victims sustained serious injuries, while 25 others suffered injuries described as non-life-threatening. Police have not released the ages or identities of the victims or the suspect. Canadian media reports have suggested the shooter was female, but the RCMP declined to confirm any details regarding the suspect’s identity during a press conference.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by what he called “horrific acts of violence,” announcing he would suspend plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference, where he had been scheduled to hold talks on transatlantic defence readiness.
British Columbia Premier David Eby described the tragedy as “unimaginable,” as shock and grief rippled through the tight-knit town of roughly 2,400 residents, located more than 1,100 kilometers north of Vancouver.
Students recounted chaotic and frightening moments as the situation unfolded. Darian Quist, a student at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, told the CBC he was in mechanics class when an announcement declared the school was in lockdown.
“At first I didn’t think anything was going on,” he said. But as “disturbing” photos began circulating among students, the reality set in. Quist said he remained locked down for more than two hours until officers entered the classroom, ordering students to raise their hands before escorting them out of the building.
His mother, Shelley Quist, said she embraced her son tightly when they were finally reunited after authorities declared the school safe. “He’s not going to be out of my sight for a while now,” she said.
Trent Ernst, a local journalist and former substitute teacher at the school, said the tragedy has shaken the entire community. “There’s been troubled kids here in town before,” he said, noting that one of his children had recently graduated from the school.
The RCMP’s northern district commander, Ken Floyd, described the incident as “a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation,” adding that officers were continuing to search other homes and properties in the area to determine whether additional locations were connected to the attack.
In a statement, the municipality of Tumbler Ridge said: “There are no words sufficient for the heartbreak our community is experiencing tonight.”
Mass shootings are extremely rare in Canada, a country with relatively strict gun laws. However, the nation has grappled with isolated but devastating acts of violence in recent years, including an attack in Vancouver in April that left 11 people dead when a vehicle struck a crowd at a Filipino cultural festival.
As investigators work to piece together the motive behind Tuesday’s tragedy, the community of Tumbler Ridge faces a long road to healing from a day that shattered its sense of safety and forever altered the lives of families, students, and staff.