OTTAWA: Bodies found in a high school. A total of 12 dead and 25 injured, in what authorities call a “mass shooting.” The small community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, has just had one of the most fatal days in recent Canadian history.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed Tuesday night that 12 people, including the suspect, died in a shooting at Tumbler Ridge.
For the rural municipality of some 2400 inhabitants, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, nearly 1200 km northeast of Vancouver, this is the total shock.
Six bodies were found inside Tumbler Ridge High School, one person lost their lives while being transported to the hospital and two other individuals were found dead in a residence, for a reason that authorities may feel are connected to the shooting.
The suspect, described as “a woman wearing a dress and with brown hair,” was also found dead. Police say it is a “self-inflicted injury.”
In addition, 25 people were injured. Two serious injuries were evacuated by helicopter, then about twenty people injured “lightly or seriously” were sent to the local medical center, which according to several responders “saved lives” despite modest means.
Around 1:20 p.m., about 100 students and staff were evacuated from the school, after police received a call reporting an active shooter. In less than two minutes, authorities issued a public alert triggered by police, which was officially cancelled around 5:30 p.m., when the threat to the public was deemed over.
“We understood that something was wrong”
Darian Quist is among the students who were confined to Tumbler Ridge High School. On CBC, he recounted a sequence of blood-squeezing events. “At first, I didn’t think it was serious,” he said. But soon, we realized that something was wrong. »
The class, which had about fifteen students and a teacher, was barricaded with tables. Then, a distressing wait of more than two hours followed. In the meantime, Darian says he received “disturbing” photos showing blood. All this time, he stayed on the phone with his mother, Shelley.
The latter reports having experienced “a roller coaster of emotions”. With her voice imbued with emotion, she nevertheless rejoices at having been able to hold her “baby”, her “angel” against her. Not all parents had that chance. “I won’t let him go anytime soon. »
Angela Titula, who has lived in Tumbler Ridge for seven years, also spoke with the English-language Radio-Canada network. Like all local residents, she was asked to stay at home, but she was mostly thinking about her friends who, for many, have children attending high school. “It’s a tight woven community,” she said. It's going to affect every individual. »
Superintendent Ken Floyd, Chief of the Northern District of British Columbia for the RCMP
“We are not yet in a position to understand what motivated this tragedy,” added Superintendent Ken Floyd.
The RCMP confirmed that it had the identity of the suspect, but refused to make it public and whether it was a minor or an adult. It was also not clear how many minors and adults were among the victims of the killing, since the police still met with the families concerned. They asked for “time” before publishing this information, with the aim of making the investigation progress properly.
With its 12 dead, the Tumbler Ridge shootings came second among the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history, behind the Polytechnique shooting, which killed 14 people in Montreal on December 6, 1989.
Add comment
Comments