Nine people died and dozens were injured after a shooter opened fire at a secondary school in western Canada, including two found dead at a home believed to be connected to the incident.
The suspected attacker was found among the dead in a remote part of British Columbia, Canadian police said. While local media reported that the suspect was female, the police refused to confirm their gender.
Six people were found dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, and a seventh died on the way to hospital. Twenty-seven people were injured, including two with serious injuries and 25 with non-life-threatening injuries, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said, making it the worst school shooting in Canada in decades.
The RCMP added that the suspected attacker died from what appeared to be a self‑inflicted injury. The force was not looking for another suspect and did not believe there was a continuing threat to the public.
Darian Quist, a grade 12 student, described hearing an alarm shortly after arriving at a 1.30pm class as the secondary school went into lockdown. In an interview with the Canadian public broadcaster CBC News, the teenager detailed how students barricaded classroom doors for more than two hours.
Quist spoke of receiving photos of the scene on his phone before meeting his mother at a centre a few hundred metres away. Quist said: “It was definitely tense; I think we were all very nervous. We tried to keep things light … and not fall into grief. Once people sent me some photos, it definitely set in what was actually happening. They were disturbing, just showing blood and things like that.”
Shelley, his mother, added: “I told him just to leave me on the phone, even when he needed to be quiet … and that I was just there … We were just trying to figure out what was going on.”
Canada has much stricter gun laws than the United States, and school shootings of this scale are extremely rare.
In 2020, in response to the worst mass shooting in Canadian history — when a man disguised as an RCMP officer fatally shot 23 people — the government tightened the country’s already strict gun laws.
Tumbler Ridge is a remote municipality with about 2,400 inhabitants, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northern British Columbia, about 700 miles, or a 13-hour drive, northeast of Vancouver.
Nina Krieger, British Columbia’s public safety minister, said on X: “All our thoughts are with people in Tumbler Ridge. I’ve spoken to the mayor and local MLA [member of the legislative assembly], and we are offering the RCMP any additional assistance they need.”
An alert was issued about an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon.
Ken Floyd, the RCMP’s northern district commander, said: “This was a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation, and the swift co-operation from the school, first responders and the community played a critical role in our response. This has been an incredibly difficult and emotional day for our community.”
Larry Neufeld, the member of the legislature for Peace River South, told reporters at the legislature that an “excess” of resources, including RCMP and ambulance support, had been sent to the community. He said he did not want to release any more information over concerns that it might jeopardise the safety of the operation.
The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from grades 7 to 12.
Tumbler Ridge school in British Columbia
TRENT ERNST/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Mark Carney, the prime minister, said he was “devastated” by the shooting. “My prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence,” he wrote on a social media.
Carney will suspend his planned trip to the Munich Security Conference after the mass shooting, his office said. “Following the tragic news out of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, the prime minister will be … suspending his planned travel out of the country for the time being,” the prime minister’s office told AFP. Carney had previously announced plans to be in Munich from Wednesday to Sunday.
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, told reporters he had spoken to Carney after what he called an “unimaginable tragedy”. “I know it’s causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight,” he said. “I’m asking the people of British Columbia to look after the people of Tumbler Ridge tonight.”
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, speaks about the attack
Floyd, of the RCMP, said investigators had identified a female suspect but would not release a name, and the shooter’s motive remained unclear.
Darryl Krakowka, mayor of Tumbler Ridge, said it was “devastating” to learn how many had died in the community, which he called a “big family”. “I broke down,” Krakowka said. “I have lived here for 18 years. I probably know every one of the victims.”
At a glance: how common are shootings in Canada?Mass shootings in Canada are rare due to the country’s strict gun lawsThe former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government introduced restrictions on firearm ownership in 2020 after a mass shooting in Nova Scotia which left 23 people deadThey introduced a freeze on buying and selling handguns and banned 2,500 makes and models of assault-style firearms, such as the AR-15 rifle responsible for many of the high-fatality mass shootings across the border in the United StatesCanada may have much stricter gun laws than the US but citizens are allowed to own firearms provided they have a licence. Their rate of gun ownership is still higher than most other Western countriesA recent small-arms survey estimated there were 12.7 million firearms in civilian possession in Canada — 34.7 per 100 people. By comparison, there are more than 500 million firearms in circulation in the US, representing roughly 1.5 guns for every personResidents of Tumbler Ridge describe it as a hunting town where gun ownership is commonCanadians must be over 18 and pass a firearms-safety course to hold a licence, which is renewed every five years. What is not yet known is the age of the attacker, what weapon was used or how it was acquired
King Charles III expressed his profound “shock and sadness” at the “senseless act of brutal violence”.
In a message posted to Instagram, the King — who is Canada’s head of state — wrote: “We can only express our deepest possible sympathy to the families who are grieving the unimaginable loss of their loved ones and those still awaiting news from hospital. In such a closely connected town, every child’s name will be known and every family will be a neighbour.
“We can only begin to imagine the appalling shadow that has now descended across Tumbler Ridge and our hearts go out to all those whose lives have been so shattered by this senseless act of brutal violence.”
Mass shootings are extremely rare in Canada, though 11 people died in Vancouver in April last year during a vehicle attack that targeted a Filipino cultural festival.
The shooting comes amid a struggling national gun buyback programme, launched in response to Canada’s deadliest mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020, in which 23 people died, including the gunman, Gabriel Wortman.
Firearm ownership is strictly regulated in Canada, but rifles are an essential part of life in many rural areas and common on First Nations reserves. The national postal service has declined to participate in collecting firearms under the buyback, pointing to safety concerns or staffing constraints.