Canadian police reported Tuesday that a mass shooting at a school in a remote British Columbia town has resulted in seven fatalities at the school and two more at a nearby residence.
Authorities stated that a woman, believed to be the perpetrator, was discovered dead at the school from an injury they characterized as “self‑inflicted.” Over 25 individuals were injured. Two others were transported by air to a hospital with injuries threatening their lives.
Tumbler Ridge, the town where the incident occurred, is located approximately 600 miles from Vancouver, the closest major city, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Its population is 2,400.
While mass shootings are uncommon in Canada because of its stringent firearm regulations, local residents have told media outlets that Tumbler Ridge is known as a hunting community where gun ownership is widespread.
This shooting may represent the most lethal school shooting in Canada since the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989, where 14 women were killed before the gunman died by suicide.
In a social media post, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed that he was “devastated” by what he called “horrific acts of violence.”
“I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens,” he wrote.
Below is a summary of the current information regarding the shooting.
How the attack unfolded
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reported receiving a call about an “active shooter” at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School around 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday.
Jarbas Noronha, a teacher of a 12th-grade auto mechanic class at the school, informed the New York that a student alerted him to the shooting by running into the shop and reporting hearing gunfire.
He recounted that minutes later, the principal rushed to the shop yelling “Lockdown!” Noronha and his students subsequently barricaded the doors using metal benches.
Upon entering the school, police located six victims and the individual suspected of being the shooter, who was “found deceased with what appears to be a self‑inflicted injury,” as per an RCMP statement. All other students and staff were evacuated safely, according to police.
Footage from the location depicted students leaving the school with their hands in the air as a helicopter landed in the vicinity.
RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd addressed reporters after the event, stating: “The scene was very dramatic, and there were multiple victims that are still being cared for.”
Police confirmed that two individuals were airlifted from the school to a hospital with severe, life-threatening injuries, and a third victim passed away during transport.
Roughly 25 other people received treatment at nearby medical centers for injuries that were not life-threatening.
According to the , Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has an enrollment of 175 students.
What do we know about the suspect?
Superintendent Floyd indicated that while a suspect has been identified, the name will not be disclosed to the public at this time.
He informed reporters that the suspect fit the description issued in a community police alert earlier that day, which detailed a “female in a dress with brown hair.”
Police in British Columbia reported that the suspect died at the school from an apparently self-inflicted injury.
Authorities stated they are in the process of searching multiple properties as part of the investigation into the day’s shooting.
“As part of the ongoing investigation, police have identified a secondary location believed to be connected to the incident, where two additional victims were located deceased in a residence. Officers are conducting further searches of additional homes and properties to determine whether anyone else may be injured or otherwise linked to today’s events,” the RCMP said.
What are Canada’s gun laws?
Although mass shootings are infrequent in Canada, they do occur. The country’s firearm regulations are significantly tighter than those in the United States, yet gun ownership remains common—particularly in , where it is primarily for hunting.
The latest government data estimates that approximately 10,040,000 firearms are in circulation, which is .
A license is mandatory for firearm ownership in Canada. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and pass a safety course, with licenses requiring renewal every five years. Registration is required for specific firearm categories, such as handguns.
Certain allowances exist for indigenous communities, for whom firearms are a tool for hunting.
Canada has updated its gun legislation multiple times in reaction to mass shootings. In 2020, after a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implemented new restrictions.
That incident, where 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman used a replica police car to carry out numerous shootings and set fires across several locations, killing 22 people, stands as the deadliest shooting spree in the nation’s history.
Shortly after the attack, Trudeau prohibited around 1,500 varieties of assault-style weapons. Subsequently, the government has banned over 2,500 makes and models of “assault-style firearms.”
A “buyback” program for military-style assault rifles is also operated by the Canadian government.