One victim died on the way to a hospital and two were airlifted with serious or life-threatening injuries. About 25 others were treated for injuries at a nearby medical centre.
Officers found two bodies at a second location that they said was a home linked to the school attack, with searches ongoing at other residences.
The shooter
Little is known about the shooter and authorities have been tight-lipped about their identity and possible motives.
Preliminary information from an initial emergency alert suggested the shooter might have been a “female in a dress with brown hair”.
The location
The district of Tumbler Ridge, 1170km north of Vancouver, has a population of 2700, according to the local authority. Many residents work in the mining, quarrying and hydrocarbon industries.
The area is also home to a Unesco Global Geopark, recognised for its international geological significance.
Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where the shooting took place, has 175 students from grades seven to 12, according to the local government.
Images after the shooting showed students being led out of the school with their hands up, under the watch of armed officers.
Mass shootings in Canada
Other major mass shootings in Canada include a December 6, 1989 attack when a 25-year-old man claiming to be “anti-feminist” burst into a Montreal school and opened fire exclusively on women.
He killed 13 female students and a secretary before taking his own life.
In April 2020, a man disguised as a police officer and driving a fake police car went on a shooting and arson rampage in eastern Canada’s Nova Scotia.
He killed 22 people following a violent dispute with his partner, and was shot dead by police after a sprawling 12-hour manhunt.
More shootings
While mass killings are less frequent in Canada than in the United States, statistics show a steady increase in violent gun crimes.
Canada recorded 36.9 incidents of firearm-related violent crime per 100,000 people in 2023. That’s 22% higher compared to 2018 and 55% higher than 2013.
In 2020, Canada banned 1500 models of assault weapons in response to that year’s Nova Scotia killings.
– Agence France-Presse