A remote mountain community in western Canada is grappling with an unprecedented tragedy after a mass shooting claimed nine lives and left 27 injured at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a connected residence. The horrific incident, which unfolded on Tuesday in the picturesque foothills of the Rockies, represents one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings in recent history.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the attack resulted in two critically injured victims and 25 others with non-life-threatening wounds. While Canadian media outlets have reported the shooter was female, authorities have declined to confirm the suspect’s identity during press briefings. The assailant was found deceased at the school with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The violence prompted an immediate lockdown response at the secondary school, where six victims were discovered fatally shot. A seventh victim succumbed to injuries while en route to medical facilities. Simultaneously, police discovered two additional fatalities at a residential property believed connected to the incident.
Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed being ‘devastated’ by the ‘horrific acts of violence,’ canceling his scheduled appearance at the Munich Security Conference to address the domestic crisis. The community of Tumbler Ridge, with approximately 2,400 residents located 1,100 kilometers north of Vancouver, has been plunged into mourning.
Eyewitness accounts describe the terror that gripped the school during the lockdown. Student Darian Quist recounted to CBC how disturbing images of the carnage circulated among students during the two-hour ordeal before police tactical teams secured the building. His mother, Shelley Quist, emotionally declared her son wouldn’t be ‘out of my sight for a while’ following the traumatic event.
The RCMP’s northern district commander Ken Floyd characterized the situation as ‘rapidly evolving and dynamic,’ with investigators continuing to search additional properties for potential connections to the attack. This tragedy follows another recent mass casualty event in Vancouver, where 11 people died in a vehicle attack targeting a Filipino cultural festival in April, challenging Canada’s reputation for low rates of mass violence.