Ten Dead and 25 Injured After Horror School Shooting in Canada

Canada is in disbelief after a horrific school shooting tore through a quiet mountain community on Tuesday, leaving at least nine people dead and dozens more injured — the country’s worst school attack in decades.

The violence erupted at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northeast British Columbia, a postcard-perfect town of just 2,400 people tucked into the Rocky Mountain foothills. Police say they arrived to a devastating scene: six people dead inside the school, another dying on the way to the hospital, and more than two dozen wounded.

Authorities later revealed that the shooter, described in an emergency alert as a brown-haired woman wearing a dress, was found dead from a self-inflicted injury inside the building. Police believe she also killed two additional victims at a home nearby, bringing the total death toll to at least nine.

In total, about 25 people were treated at a local medical center, and two victims were airlifted in critical condition.

Officials have identified the shooter but are withholding details — including whether she was a minor. They have also not named any of the victims or confirmed how many were children, leaving the community bracing for heartbreaking news.

“We are not in a place now to be able to understand why,” said RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd. “I think we will struggle to determine the ‘why,’ but we will try our best to determine what transpired.”

For residents of Tumbler Ridge, the tragedy feels impossible. Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the town is so small and close-knit that nearly every loss is personal.

“I will know every victim,” he told CBC. “I don’t call them residents. I call them family.”

Inside the school — which has only 175 students across Grades 7 to 12 — terrified teens huddled behind barricaded doors as police swept the building. Twelfth-grader Darian Quist said he and his classmates were locked down for two hours before officers escorted them to safety.

“The reality of it all is starting to set in,” he said. “I believe I knew somebody, but everything is still very fresh.”

The shock rippled far beyond the remote town. British Columbia Premier David Eby said the shooting felt like something “that happens in other places, and not close to home,” and urged families to “hug our kids a little tighter tonight.”

Mass shootings are rare in Canada, where gun laws are far stricter than in the United States. The last school massacre of this magnitude dates back to 1989, when a gunman killed 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique.

Police have not said what type of weapon was used, though Canada bans the purchase of assault-style rifles.

The attack marks British Columbia’s second mass killing in less than a year. Last April, 11 people were killed when a driver plowed an SUV into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver.

Schools in Tumbler Ridge have been closed for the remainder of the week as investigators work through the grim aftermath.

Local lawmaker Larry Neufeld called the shooting “tragic and deeply disturbing,” noting that the town’s small size means “the impact of an event like this is felt by everyone.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his condolences on X, saying his “prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence.”

This story continues to develop as officials release more details.