At least nine people were killed at a high school in a rural mountain town of Canada’s British Columbia province, in the country’s deadliest school shooting in decades.
Six people dead and dozens injured were found as the police responded to reports of an active shooter at the school in Tumbler Ridge, a tight-knit town in the province’s northeast, around 1:20 p.m. Tuesday local time.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said that another person died while being shifted to hospital.
Police said in a statement, two more people were found dead at a residence believed to be connected to the incident. However, police confirmed “suspected shooter was found dead at the school with “what appears to be a self-inflicted injury.”
According to CNN, the suspect was described as a brown-haired woman wearing a dress, in an emergency alert which went out to residents’ phones.
police added that two victims were airlifted from the school to hospital with serious injuries and about 25 other people with minor injuries.
As per the province’s website, Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.
Canadian media have reported that the RCMP declined to provide any details on the suspect’s identity in a press conference on Tuesday.
Superintendent Ken Floyd, North District commander said in a press conference that the Police have not yet determined a motive for the shooting, adding “We are not in a place now to be able to understand why or what may have motivated this tragedy.
‘Horrible tragedy’
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his “prayers and deepest condolences” to the “families and friends” who “lost loved ones” in the Tumbler Ridge shootings, in a statement on social media.
“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,” he said.
“The Government of Canada stands with all British Columbians as they confront this horrible tragedy,” Carney added.
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