At least 10 dead in shooting at a school in rural Canada... Suspect also deceased
A mass shooting at a school in rural British Columbia, Canada, has resulted in at least 10 deaths, including the suspect.
A tragic shooting incident occurred in a rural town in British Columbia, Canada, where at least 10 individuals, including the shooter, lost their lives. Reports by AP and CBC indicate that eight victims were killed on-site at the school, with two more fatalities found in a nearby residence. Additionally, 27 others sustained injuries, with two individuals reported to be in critical condition. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has identified the female suspect but has withheld her name. The motivation behind the attack remains unclear as investigations continue into the relationship between the victims and the perpetrator.
The shooting took place in the small mountain village of Tumblin Ridge, which has a population of around 2,400 and is situated over 1,000 kilometers north of Vancouver near the Alberta border. The school involved serves students from grades 7 to 12, with a total enrollment of 175 students. A senior student, Daryan Quist, recounted the moments following the lockdown alert, describing how he and his classmates perceived the situation as increasingly dangerous, ultimately barricading themselves in their classroom for over two hours until police arrived. Quist emphasized the surreal nature of the event, revealing that only about 20 students were in his graduating class, making the incident feel even more unreal as it resembled a scenario typically seen only on television.
In response to this devastating event, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his condolences on social media, acknowledging the irreversible change in lives affected by the tragedy and praising the courage of first responders who put their lives on the line to protect citizens. Canada has been striving to strengthen gun control measures following previous shooting incidents, and the government has recently expanded bans on all firearms classified as assault weapons, indicating a potential shift in the national response to gun violence in the wake of this latest tragedy.