(LONDON) — A total of nine people were killed — most of them at a school — and more than two dozen were wounded, after a shooter opened fire on Tuesday in a small community in Canada’s British Columbia.
The suspected shooter is dead from what is believed to be a self-inflicted injury, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced seven days of mourning after the deadly shooting. A visibly emotional Carney called it “a very difficult day for the nation.”
“This morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you,” Carney told reporters on Wednesday in Ottawa.
“We thank the first responders, the teachers, the staff, the residents, for everything that they’ve done in this terrible situation. I, on the advice of the Clerk of the Privy Council and Heritage Canada, I’ve asked that the flags of the Peace Tower here and across all government buildings be flown at half-mast for the next seven days,” he said.
The gunfire was reported at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School at about 1:20 p.m., the RCMP said.
Officers responding to the scene found six people dead inside the school, and another person died while being taken to the hospital, police said.
Two other victims were airlifted to the hospital with serious or life-threatening injuries. About 25 others were being assessed for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, authorities said.
As part of the investigation, police identified what they called a “secondary location believed to be connected to the incident” where two other victims were found dead inside a residence, police 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,” the RCMP said in the statement.
In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the shooting.
“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, Carney said in the statement.
Tumbler Ridge is a small community of about 2,400 people located in the Northern Rockies in northeastern British Columbia.
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