At least nine people are dead, including the alleged shooter, and dozens more are injured after two shootings rocked a small community in British Columbia, Canada on Tuesday. Now, authorities are working to uncover how two people found shot to death in a home are related to a a mass shooting at a school in the town of Tumbler Ridge.
Deadly school shooting
Investigators say the school shooting was first reported at around 1:20 p.m. Pacific Time at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. British Columbia Premier David Eby said police got to the school school within two minutes of receiving the call.
“That speed and professionalism saved lives today,” he said.
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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said six people, including the woman believed to be the shooter, were found dead at the school when authorities got there. Medics airlifted three victims to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, but police say one died on the way.
More than 25 others were injured in the shooting, but police have not specified if they were all shot. They also have not yet said how many of the victims were children.
Police say the suspect appears to have been killed by a “self-inflicted injury.” They believe they have identified the shooter, but have not yet released her name.
Investigators say the motive for the shooting is unclear, so far, and they’re still working to determine how the victims may be connected to the shooter.
Another shooting nearby
Investigators are also looking into a second scene, where two people were found dead in a nearby home.
“We have two scenes, we have the school and then we have found two other persons deceased at a residence in Tumbler Ridge that we are trying to determine the connection to this event,” RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd said Tuesday. “We believe they’re connected but we are not in a position to provide that definitively right now at this time and what that connection may or may not be.”
Officials react
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he has suspended an upcoming trip in the wake of the shooting.
“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,” Carney said in a post on social media.
He added that he’s working with Premier Eby and the country’s Minister of Public Safety to coordinate the response.
“Our officials are in close contact with their counterparts to ensure the community is fully supported as best we can,” Carney said. “The Government of Canada stands with all British Columbians as they confront this horrible tragedy.”
Eby, in his own social media post, promised to support the grieving community.
“Government will ensure every possible support for community members in the coming days, as we all try to come to terms with this unimaginable tragedy,” he said.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger said in a news conference Tuesday that trauma-informed counselors were being dispatched to the region.
“The people of Tumbler Ridge remain in a state of crisis following one of the worst mass shootings in our province’s and country’s history,” Krieger said. “This is a devastating day for close knit community, and the loss being felt is profound.”
The school has also been closed for the remainder of the week and in a statement on its website, also said it will offer support.
“The district will make supports available and once we have the locations for where the supports will be we will put that information on social media,” the statement read.
Olympian and hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser also responded to the tragedy, recalling her time there when the town played co-host to Team Canada in 2010.
“It’s a beautiful quaint town,” she wrote in a post on X. “My heart hurts for the families of those lost and this community which always be forever special to me.”
