VANCOUVER, Feb 11: A shooting at a school in British Columbia left eight dead, including a woman whom police believe to be the shooter, while two more people were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said on Tuesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more than 25 people are injured, including two who were airlifted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, after the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
School shootings are rare in Canada.
The town of Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) north of Vancouver, near the border with Alberta. The provincial Government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.
British Columbia Premier David Eby told reporters that police officers reached the school within two minutes.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
They found seven people dead, local police said in a statement, including a suspect who appeared to have died of a “self-inflicted injury.” An eighth person died while being transported to a hospital, and two more were found dead at a home the authorities believe was connected to the attack.
RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd told reporters that investigators had identified a female suspect but would not release a name, and that the shooter’s motive remained unclear. He added that police are still investigating how the victims are connected to the shooter.
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the whole community is grieving.
“I broke down,” he said, saying it was “devastating” to learn how many had died in the community of 2,700, which he called a “big family.”
“I have lived here for 18 years,” Krakowka said, “I probably know every one of the victims.”
Pastor George Rowe of the Tumbler Ridge Fellowship Baptist Church went to the recreation centre where the victims’ families were awaiting more information. (AP)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
