7 shot dead at school in British Columbia, 2 more found dead at nearby home

Seven people were killed Tuesday at a British Columbia school, while two others were found dead at a residence believed to be linked to the campus shooting, police said.

The attacks took place Tuesday afternoon in Tumbler Ridge, a small town located at the foot of the Canadian Rockies, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

The shooter was also found dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the agency said.

“We believe we have been able to identify the shooter,” RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd said at an evening news conference. The release of the shooter’s name will have to wait, however, as part of an ongoing investigation, he said.

Any possible connection between the shooter and the school or residence where other victims were found was still under investigation, Floyd said.

Police responded to Tumbler Ridge High School around 1:20 p.m. after receiving a report of an active shooter, RCMP said. Six victims were found dead upon arrival and another victim died while en route to a hospital.

Two other people were airlifted to medical facilities with life-threatening injuries, RCMP said.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said police were at the school after hearing gunshots within two minutes.

“This speed and professionalism saved lives today,” he said at an evening news conference.

Police say about 25 other people at the scene suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The campus, also described as a high school, was evacuated.

Police went to a residence believed to be connected to the attack and found two people dead inside, Floyd said.

It is too early to give an idea of ​​how many of the victims are children, he said, and the possible motive has not been determined.

“The scene was very dramatic and many victims are still being treated,” Floyd said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that his government was working to ensure “the community is fully supported as best we can”. He called the violence “horrific” and offered his condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the attack.

“I join Canadians in mourning those whose lives have been irreversibly changed today,” he said.

In a statement on X, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre called Tuesday’s attack a “senseless act of violence.”

British Columbia legislator Larry Neufeld described Tumbler Ridge as “a close-knit little town.”

“The impact of an event like this is felt by everyone,” he said in a statement.

Eby said the day’s events would not quickly fade from memory. “This is something that will reverberate for years to come,” he said during Tuesday evening’s press conference.

Hockey legend and four-time Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser said Tumbler Ridge co-hosted a training camp for a group of Team Canada Olympic athletes in 2010.

“It’s a beautiful, quaint town,” she said on X. “My heart aches for the families of the missing and for this community that will always be special to me.”

Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger said at the news conference that trauma-informed counselors were being sent to the area to help people cope with the day’s attack, which she called one of the deadliest in British Columbia’s history.

The township’s public school district said instruction at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and Tumbler Ridge Elementary School had been canceled until the end of the week and that mental health support for students would be made available.

Tumbler Ridge was developed in 1981 to support coal miners and the local coal industry, according to the Visit Tumbler Ridge website. Its population is 2,399 inhabitants, according to the Canadian government.