ALBAWABA- Nine people were killed and at least 25 others injured in a mass shooting at a secondary school in the remote British Columbia community of Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday, in what authorities describe as one of Canada’s deadliest gun attacks in decades.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) responded to reports of an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School at approximately 1:20 p.m. local time. Officers found six victims dead inside the school, while a seventh died en route to the hospital. Two additional victims were later discovered at a nearby private residence connected to the suspect.
Police said the suspected shooter, initially described in emergency alerts as a woman wearing a dress with brown hair, was found dead inside the school from an apparent self-inflicted injury. Authorities confirmed there are no outstanding suspects and lifted the public safety alert later that afternoon.
The attack has stunned the tight-knit town of roughly 2,400 residents in northeastern British Columbia. Schools were evacuated, families were reunited under police supervision, and additional RCMP officers, including major crime investigators, were deployed to secure the area and begin a full investigation.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the shooting an “unimaginable tragedy” and among the worst mass-casualty incidents in the province’s history.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the country was mourning alongside the community. “The nation grieves with Tumbler Ridge,” he told reporters, announcing that flags on Parliament Hill and federal buildings nationwide would be flown at half-mast for seven days. Carney also cancelled planned international travel to focus on the national response and said messages of condolence had been received from world leaders.
School shootings are rare in Canada, where strict firearm regulations, including bans on many assault-style rifles, have historically limited such incidents. The massacre marks the country’s deadliest school shooting since the 1989 École Polytechnique attack in Montreal.
Authorities said the motive remains under investigation. Crisis response teams and mental health support services have been mobilized to assist victims’ families and the wider community as Canada confronts one of the darkest days in its recent history.
