Ten people, including the suspected perpetrator, died after a woman opened fire at a high school in western Canada this Tuesday (9), in one of the events with the highest number of victims in the country’s recent history.
The incident led to the most common type of mass shooting in the United States in Canada, and was carried out by a female shooter, police said.
Six people were found dead inside a high school in the British Columbia town of Tumbler Ridge, two at a residence believed to be related to the incident, and another person died on the way to hospital, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
At least two more people were hospitalized with serious or life-threatening injuries, and about 25 are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The alleged shooter was also found dead, apparently from a self-inflicted wound, police said, adding that they do not believe there are any additional suspects or ongoing threats to the public.
“It’s hard to know what to say on a night like this. It’s the kind of thing that seems to happen in other places and not close to home,” British Columbia Premier David Eby told reporters.
Police have not released details about the shooter other than to say the person was described as a woman — a potentially unusual development given that mass shootings in North America are almost always carried out by men.
A police alert about an active shooter said the suspect was described as “a female dressed in a dress with brown hair.” Police Superintendent Ken Floyd later confirmed in an interview that the suspect described in the alert was the same person found dead at the school. Police did not say how many victims were minors.
United community
Tumbler Ridge is a small municipality with a population of 2,400 people in northern British Columbia, approximately 1,150 km northeast of Vancouver. Images of the city show a landscape covered in snow and full of pine trees.
Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has 160 students in Years 7 to 12, ages 12 to 18, according to its website. The school has been closed for the rest of the week and more information is being made available to those who need it, school officials said.
The city’s small police force arrived on the scene two minutes after receiving the call and victims were still being assessed hours after the incident.
“This is a small, close-knit community, with a small RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) detachment, who responded within two minutes, undoubtedly saving lives,” British Columbia Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger told reporters.
The shooting is among the deadliest in Canadian history.
