The horror of a school shooting in a small community in British Columbia is echoing across the country and around the world as police in Tumbler Ridge try to piece together why 10 people are dead, including the suspect.
Condolences poured in from across Canada and beyond Wednesday, with King Charles, Prime Minister Mark Carney, French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi among those offering sympathies to the victims and their families involved in the attacks in the community in northeastern B.C.
Carney ordered flags lowered to half-mast on government buildings and the Peace Tower for seven days.
"Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, are waking up this morning, without one of their loved ones. It is a difficult time. Canada is grieving, grieving with you," the prime minister said as he spoke to reporters in Ottawa.
The King said in a statement that he and his wife express their deepest possible sympathy.
"In such a closely connected town, every child's name will be known and every family will be a neighbour," the statement said.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said "no one should remain indifferent" when children are killed.
"Such tragedies should never happen anywhere, in any country in the world," he wrote.
RCMP have said police were "not in a place" to understand what motivated a shooter suspected of killing two people at a home before going to a school and committing one of Canada's worst mass shootings.
A total of 10 people are dead after the shootings Tuesday in the community in B.C.'s Peace region, including the lone suspect who police said died at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School by suicide.
RCMP Supt. Ken Floyd said about 25 people were hurt at the school, including two with life-threatening injuries.
The school district said the high school and Tumbler Ridge Elementary School will be closed for the rest of the week.
The community went into a lockdown Tuesday that lasted several hours, after police were called about an active shooter at the school at 1:20 p.m. Residents sheltered in place in homes and community spaces as police searched for a suspect described as a "female in a dress with brown hair."
While police initially said they were searching for a possible second suspect, Floyd, the RCMP North District Commander, later said the shooter acted alone, and that they were the person described in the alert.
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka said that when he first heard the toll of the shootings that have devastated the community, he "broke down."
"I have lived here for 18 years," he said of the community that he called a "big family" of about 2,700 residents. "I probably know every one of the victims."
Police did not give the ages of the victims, and Floyd said he could not provide more details about the shooter.
Floyd told a briefing that about 100 students and staff were evacuated from the school.
Carney said Tuesday that he had connected with B.C. Premier David Eby to express his condolences, while federal Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree was co-ordinating the federal response.
B.C. Solicitor General Nina Krieger said that police were at the school within two minutes of receiving the call.
Floyd said that police who entered the school encountered a "very dramatic scene," finding six victims dead, as well as the body of the shooter, while another person died on the way to hospital.
B.C. Emergency Health Services says it received an initial call at 1:22 p.m. "Paramedics provided emergency medical treatment to two patients who were transported by air ambulance to hospital, one in critical condition, and one in serious but stable condition," the service said in a statement.
Floyd said about two dozen others were assessed and triaged at the local medical centre, adding that without the support of professionals at the clinic, "this would have been a far worse outcome."
Police said they identified a secondary location believed to be connected to the incident, and two people were found dead inside the residence.
"We are not in a place now to be able to understand why and what may have motivated this tragedy," Floyd said.
"This was a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation, and the swift co-operation from the school, first responders, and the community played a critical role in our response."
Supports were on the way for students, teachers, front-line workers and others impacted by what happened, Floyd said.
"At the end of the day, every citizen and every person in Tumbler Ridge, including our first responders, are going home to their families to try and explain this, and sometimes there's just not a way to explain this, so we'll continue providing that support however it's needed."
Larry Neufeld, MLA for Peace River South, which includes Tumbler Ridge, said the news was "beyond devastating."
"I don't know that my thoughts and prayers are enough for the people of Tumbler Ridge. I have given them everything I have in that respect, and I only wish I had a hundred times more to give, but it would never be enough."
Eby said he wanted British Columbians and all Canadians "to wrap the people of Tumbler Ridge, wrap these families, with love."
"Not just tonight, but tomorrow and into the future. This is something that will reverberate for years to come," he told a media briefing. He said some of the injuries were "profoundly serious," while others were more minor.
"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," he said.
A statement from the District of Tumbler Ridge encouraged people to rely only on official statements for updates.
"In the days ahead, we know this will be difficult for many to process. Please check in on one another, lean on available supports, and know that Tumbler Ridge is a strong and caring community. We will get through this together," the statement said.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Jesse Boily
