Shooting attack at school leaves ten dead in Canada

Another 27 were injured, two seriously, after gunshots at a school and a house in the city of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Police alert describes shooter as female

A shooting attack at a school in British Columbia, Canada, left eight people dead, including one person police believe was the shooter, and two other people were found dead in a nearby house, which police believe was linked to the attack, Canadian authorities said on Tuesday (10/02).

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (PMRC) said 27 people were injured, including two who were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries, following the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s recent history.

Authorities have avoided releasing details about the victims’ identities or ages, but have not ruled out that students and faculty members were among the dead.

The suspect responsible for the shooting was also found dead, victim of a self-inflicted wound, the police said, adding that they believed there were no more suspects nor that there was a public threat.

A police alert sent to cellphones in the area described the person responsible for the attack as a “woman in a dress with brown hair.” Police Superintendent Ken Floyd later confirmed that the person described in the alert was the same suspect found dead at the school. Police said they knew her identity but did not release her name, age or gender.

Rare not Canada

School shootings are rare in Canada. Tuesday’s attack was the deadliest in the country since 2020, when a shooter in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left nine others dead.

The town of Tumbler Ridge in the Canadian Rockies is more than 1,000 kilometers north of Vancouver, near the border with Alberta. The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students in grades 7 to 12.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported that, at around 1:20 pm (local time, 7:20 pm Brasília time), they began receiving calls about the attack at the school in the small town, which has around 2,400 inhabitants.

British Columbia Premier David Eby told reporters that officers arrived at the school within two minutes.

They found seven dead, local police reported, including the suspect in the attack. An eighth died on the way to hospital, and two others were found dead in a house that police believe was linked to the attack.

Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the entire community is grieving. “I broke down,” he said, saying it was “devastating” to learn how many people had died in the small community, which he called one big family. “I’ve lived here for 18 years,” Krakowka said. “I probably know all the victims.”

Pastor George Rowe of Tumbler Ridge Fellowship Baptist Church went to the recreation center where the victims’ families were waiting for more information. “It was not a pretty scene. The families are still waiting to find out if it is their son who passed away, and due to protocols and procedures, the investigation team is being very cautious in releasing names,” Rowe said.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on social media that he was devastated. “I join Canadians in mourning those whose lives were irreversibly changed 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 had suspended a planned trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and another to southern Germany, where he was scheduled to attend the Munich Security Conference.

Originally published by DW on 02/11/2026