Tumbler Ridge mass shooting: What we know about Canada’s school attack 

At least nine people were killed and 27 were injured in a mass school shooting on Tuesday in a town in northeastern British Columbia, the Canadian police has said.

A suspected attacker was also found dead from what appeared to be a self‑inflicted injury, police reported, adding that authorities do not believe there were any other suspects or an ongoing threat to the public.

Here is what we know:

What happened in British Columbia?

An attacker killed nine people and injured at least 26 at a high school residence in Tumbler Ridge.

Police, responding to reports of a shooting at about 1:20pm local time (21:20 GMT), found six people dead inside the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. A seventh victim died while being taken to hospital. Officers also found the suspected attacker dead at the school.

Two more victims’ bodies were found at a nearby house, which police believe is connected to the attack.

Authorities described the suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair”. They said they had identified the attacker but have not yet publicly released the name or confirmed the sex of the suspect.

They did not confirm whether the victims at the school included children.

Darian Quist, a student at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, said an alarm sounded shortly after he arrived in class, announcing a lockdown and instructing students to shut classroom doors.

Quist told Canada’s CBC Radio that students initially remained inside, not knowing what was happening. He said he later began receiving photos from the scene on his phone.

“We got tables and barricaded the doors,” he said, adding that students remained inside for more than two hours until police arrived and escorted them out.

About 100 students and staff members were evacuated from the school after police arrived.

Trent Ernst, a local journalist and publisher of local news site Tumbler RidgeLines, told the Canadian broadcaster CBC: “I got a message on Facebook saying there were reports of an active shooter down at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. These things occasionally happen, but I hopped in my car, grabbed my camera, went down there and discovered all the roads to the school were blocked off.”

Ernst also saw RCMP vehicles driving quickly in the direction of a home near the town centre, where reports said the second shooting had taken place.

Where is Tumbler Ridge?

Tumbler Ridge is a remote municipality with a population of about 2,400.

It is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northern British Columbia, approximately 1,155km (717 miles) northeast of Vancouver.

Tumbler Ridge Secondary School is a Grade 7-12 school with 160 students, according to its website.

“I will know every victim. I’ve been here 19 years, and we’re a small community,” Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka told the CBC.

“I don’t call them residents. I call them family.”

The investigation into the mass shooting has been handed over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) Major Crimes Unit, according to North District RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd.

British Columbia’s Premier David Eby described the mass shooting as an “unimaginable tragedy”.

Nina Krieger, the provincial public safety minister, commended the RCMP – also known as “the Mounties” – for their rapid response.

“This is a small, tight-knit community with a small RCMP detachment who responded within two minutes,” she said.

Superintendent Floyd said the motivation for the attack is currently unknown.

“I think we will struggle to determine the ‘why’, but we will try our best to determine what transpired.”

He declined to say how many victims are children. Floyd also said the RCMP will provide further updates in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended his scheduled trip to Germany for the Munich Security Conference after receiving news of the school attack, his office said.

Carney said in a statement posted on X that he was “devastated” by the attack.

“My prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence,” he said.

“I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been irreversibly changed today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens.”

What is the school doing now?

The school has been closed for the rest of the week, and counselling will be provided to those in need, school officials said.

How common are mass shootings in Canada?

The Tumbler Ridge attack was one of the worst mass shootings in Canada in several decades, although the death toll on Tuesday night in Canada was below that of the worst incident six years ago.

Compared with the neighbouring United States, mass shootings are relatively rare in Canada. Experts often attribute this to the country’s strict gun laws, which make it difficult to obtain assault-style weapons like those which have been used in many US school shootings.

Some of the deadliest include:

• April 2020: Portapique, Nova Scotia – An attacker, who at one point masqueraded as a police officer, killed at least 16 people in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia during a 12-hour rampage, in the country’s worst modern-era mass shooting.
• January 2017: Quebec City, Quebec – A man opened fire during evening prayers at a mosque, killing six people and wounding five. Twelve others were treated for minor injuries.
• January 2016: La Loche, Saskatchewan – A student killed his two brothers at home before opening fire at a remote community high school, killing two more people and wounding seven others.
• June 2014: Moncton, New Brunswick – An attacker killed three RCMP officers and wounded two others.
• March 2005: Mayerthorpe, Alberta – A man shot dead four RCMP officers who had arrived at his home to execute a warrant to repossess property. He then killed himself.
• April 1999: Ottawa, Ontario – A former employee of Ottawa’s urban transit service shot dead four of his colleagues and wounded two before taking his own life.
• April 1996: Vernon, British Columbia – A man killed nine relatives gathered for the wedding of his estranged wife’s sister and wounded two others before killing himself.
• December 1989: Montreal, Quebec – An attacker killed 14 female students and wounded 13 at the Ecole Polytechnique before dying by suicide in Canada’s worst school attack.