- A school shooting in British Columbia left eight dead, including the shooter, on Tuesday.
- Two additional victims were found at a nearby home linked to the attack.
- Canadian authorities are still investigating the motive and victims' connections to the shooter.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A shooting at a school in British Columbia left eight dead including a woman who police believe to be the shooter, while two more people were found dead at a nearby home, Canadian authorities said Tuesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said more than 25 people are injured, including two who were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries, after the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
School shootings are rare in Canada.
The town of Tumbler Ridge, which has a population of about 2,400 people, is more than 600 miles north of Vancouver, near the border with Alberta. The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from grades 7 to 12.
British Columbia Premier David Eby told reporters that police officers reached the school within two minutes.
They found seven people dead, local police said in a statement, including a suspect who appeared to have died of a "self-inflicted injury." An eighth person died while being transported to a hospital, and two more were found dead at a home the authorities believe was connected to the attack.
Police Superintendent Ken Floyd told reporters that investigators had identified a female suspect but would not release a name, and that the shooter's motive remained unclear. He added that police are still investigating how the victims are connected to the shooter.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in statement on social media that he was devastated by the shooting in Tumbler Ridge.
"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 wrote.
Carney's office said he is suspending a planned trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Munich, Germany. He was set to announce a long-awaited defense industrial strategy in Halifax on Wednesday before heading to Europe for the Munich Security Conference.
Eby, the province's premier, told reporters he had spoken to Carney after what he called the "unimaginable tragedy."
"I know it's causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight," he said. "I'm asking the people of British Columbia to look after the people of Tumbler Ridge tonight."
Canada's government has responded to previous mass shootings with gun control measures, including a recently broadened ban on all guns it considers assault weapons.
Tuesday's shootings were Canada's deadliest rampage since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left another nine dead.
