By Tiffany Williams –
TUMBLER RIDGE, British Columbia — A quiet mountain town of 2,400 people is shattered. A secondary school with just 160 students is now the site of the worst school shooting Canada has seen in decades.
At least nine people are dead. Around 25 others are wounded. Two victims were airlifted with serious or life-threatening injuries. The suspected shooter was found dead inside the school with what police described as an apparent self-inflicted injury. Investigators say two additional bodies were discovered at a home in the township and are believed to have been killed by the same suspect.
Police received reports at 1:20 p.m. local time Tuesday of an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Within minutes, officers were on scene. By 1:30 p.m., lockdown alarms echoed through the halls, ordering classroom doors shut. One student said he and his classmates used tables to barricade themselves in, waiting in fear as sirens wailed outside.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a “shelter in place” warning, instructing residents to lock their doors and stay inside. Hours later, at 5:45 p.m., the emergency alert was lifted. Police said they did not believe there were any outstanding suspects “or ongoing threat to the public.”
Superintendent Ken Floyd, North District Commander of the British Columbia RCMP, said investigators were not yet able to say “what may have motivated this strategy.” He confirmed the force has identified a female suspect but would not release a name. Authorities are also investigating how the victims are connected to the attacker.
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the mass shooting an “unimaginable tragedy,” adding the government would “ensure every possible support for community members.”
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney suspended major travel plans, clearing much of his schedule after news of the attack. His office announced that his previously planned events were “suspended.” He had been set to travel to Halifax to “announce new measures to strengthen Canada’s security” and then fly to Munich for an international security conference. Both trips were called off.
Holding back tears in Ottawa, Carney told reporters that “the nation mourns with” Tumbler Ridge. Later, he said Canadians were waking up after a “difficult day” that saw the country’s worst school shooting in decades. He thanked “first responders, the teachers, the staff, the residents, for everything they’ve done in this terrible situation.” He added that he was sending Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree to the community.
Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre called the attack an “appalling shooting” and said he was devastated. “The fact that this took place at a secondary school, it makes it even more tragic,” Poilievre told reporters at Parliament Hill. “As a father, I can’t even imagine the phone calls that parents might have received. I can’t imagine the heartache and hell that they’re living through at this moment.” He urged Canadians to unite and said he would speak to Carney to offer support. “I encourage all Canadians to pray for the community and pray for the family as we go forward and take the necessary steps to support them,” he added.
The Peace River South School District has established a support space at the Tumbler Ridge Community Centre, where mental health professionals will provide services in the coming days. The district described the shooting as “tragic and deeply traumatic.”
The scale of the bloodshed has stunned the nation. The last school shooting of this magnitude in Canada was in 1989, when 14 women were murdered at École Polytechnique in Montreal.
Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, will remain closed for the rest of the week. The small school is known for its tight-knit environment, its fish farm program, and extracurricular activities that foster close relationships among students and staff. That sense of security is now fractured.
“All remaining students and staff were safely evacuated,” the RCMP said.
Investigators are working to piece together what happened inside the school and at the second location. Authorities have confirmed the suspect’s identity but say they are not prepared to release it publicly. They have declined to say whether the suspect was a child.
For a town built on community and familiarity, the horror unfolded in a place meant for learning and growth. Now, families mourn, classrooms sit empty, and a nation confronts a tragedy that echoes far beyond the mountains of northeast British Columbia.