British Columbia, Feb 11: A northern British Columbia town is reeling after a mass shooting on Tuesday left 10 people dead, including a female suspect, and at least 25 others wounded. The attacks, which occurred at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a nearby residence, now stand among the deadliest school-related tragedies in Canadian history.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) discovered six victims deceased within the school halls, while another individual succumbed to injuries while being transported to a hospital. In a connected discovery, officers found two additional victims at a local home. Authorities confirmed that the lone suspect, described in emergency alerts as a woman in a dress with brown hair, died at the scene from a self-inflicted injury.
“It felt like I was somewhere that I had only seen across a TV,” said Darian Quist, a Grade 12 student who survived the ordeal. He mentioned that he and his classmates spent more than two hours behind barricaded doors after an alarm sounded shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time. He noted that the realization of the danger only set in as the lockdown stretched on, ending only when police escorted them to safety.
Investigators believe they have identified the shooter but mentioned they may struggle to uncover a definitive motive. International condolences have poured in, with French President Emmanuel Macron stating that France “stands alongside the Canadian people” during this time of horror. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also noted that such tragedies should never happen anywhere, expressing hope for the swift recovery of the two dozen injured survivors.
