Nine people were killed on Tuesday in a shooting at a secondary school and a residence in British Columbia, authorities said.
According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the shootings at the school and home in Tumbler Ridge were connected but did not elaborate, CBC News reported. In addition to the victims, the suspected shooter also died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Ken Floyd, North District commander of the British Columbia division of the RCMP.
Six people were found dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and another person died while being transported to an area hospital, The New York Times reported. Two other people were found dead at the residence, according to CBC News.
“The scene was very dramatic, and there were multiple victims that are still being cared for,” Floyd told reporters.
Authorities did not release the names, genders or age ranges of the victims, CBC News reported. It was also unclear what type of firearm was used in the shooting.
“The reality of it all is starting to set in,” 12th-grader Darian Quist told the news outlet. “I believe I knew somebody, but everything is still very fresh.”
The RCMP said the 25 other injured people had injuries that were not life-threatening.
The shooting is the second deadliest school shooting in Canadian history, behind the Dec. 14, 1989, massacre in Montreal that left 14 dead when a gunman opened fire in an engineering class at L’Ecole Polytechnique, CBC News reported.
Tumbler Ridge is located approximately 600 miles north of Vancouver near the Alberta border, according to The Associated Press. It has about 2,400 residents. The provincial government website listed Tumbler Ridge Secondary School with 175 enrolled students between the seventh and 12th grades, according to the AP.
In a news release, the RCMP said that authorities received a report of a shooting at 1:20 p.m. MT.
“As part of the ongoing investigation, police have identified a secondary location believed to be connected to the incident, where two additional victims were located deceased in a residence,” the RCMP said. “Officers are conducting further searches of additional homes and properties to determine whether anyone else may be injured or otherwise linked to today’s events.”
In a statement posted to X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the shootings, calling them “horrific acts of violence.”
“My prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence,” Carney wrote.
“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.
“Our ability to come together in crisis is the best of our country — our empathy, our unity, and our compassion for each other.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby also offered condolences on X.
“Our hearts are in Tumbler Ridge tonight with the families of those who have lost loved ones,” Eby wrote. “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.”
Eby, who has three children, began a news conference by noting that news of the shooting “makes you want to hug your kids a little tighter.”
“This is the kind of thing that feels like it happens in other places, and not close to home in a way that this feels like for many British Columbians and Canadians,” Eby told reporters.
The B.C. Lions of the CFL and the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL also posted condolences on social media.
The Tumbler Ridge elementary and secondary schools will be closed for the rest of the week, the Peace River South School District said in a statement late Tuesday. Nearby Northern Lights College also said it would be closed for the remainder of the week.
An investigation is ongoing.
“We’re following all leads to try to determine the connection to the shooter,” Floyd said during his news conference. “I think we will struggle to determine the ‘why,’ but we will try our best to determine what transpired.”