Star Metro - Canada stunned by deadliest school shooting in decades

An emotional Carney said in brief remarks to reporters that "the nation mourns" with British Columbia's Tumbler Ridge after Tuesday's shooting. "Canada stands by you."

He said he had requested flags to be lowered to half-mast for seven days over the tragedy, among the deadliest shootings in Canada's history, and that numerous world leaders had reached out to offer their condolences.

Tumbler Ridge, a small town of about 2,400 residents, lies in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies near the provincial border with Alberta, hundreds of kilometers from any major city.

Emergency responders found six people shot dead at the town's secondary school on Tuesday, while a seventh person died in transit to hospital, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

Two others were killed at a nearby residence, while at least 25 people sustained injuries in the attack.

The suspect, described by police in an initial emergency alert as a "female in a dress with brown hair," was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the school.

Police have not yet released any identifying information about the shooter or the victims.

"We will get through this. We will learn from this. But right now, it's a time to come together, as Canadians always do in these situations, these terrible situations, to support each other, to mourn together and to grow together," Carney said.

King Charles, the monarch of Canada, said in a statement that he and Queen Camilla were "profoundly shocked and saddened" to learn of the attack.

"In a such a closely connected town, every child's name will be known and every family will be a neighbour," he said.

While several mass killings have occurred in recent years in Canada, deadly attacks on schools are very rare, especially compared to the neighboring United States.

In 1989, a self-described anti-feminist man killed 13 female students and a secretary at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique.

After the country's deadliest shooting attack, which left 22 people dead in Nova Scotia in 2020, Canada banned some 1,500 models of assault weapons.

- 'Off the rails' -

Tumbler Ridge student Darian Quist told public broadcaster CBC that he was in his mechanics class when there was an announcement that the school was in lockdown.

He said that initially he "didn't think anything was going on," but started receiving "disturbing" photos about the carnage.

"It set in what was happening," Quist said.

He said he stayed in lockdown for more than two hours until police stormed in, ordering everyone to put their hands up before escorting them out of the school.

Trent Ernst, a local journalist and a former substitute teacher at Tumbler Ridge, expressed shock over the shooting at the school, where one of his children has just graduated.

He noted that school shootings have been a rarity occurring every few years in Canada compared with the United States, where they are far more frequent.

"I used to kind of go: 'Look at Canada, look at who we are.' But then that one school shooting every 2.5 years happens in your town and things... just go off the rails," he told AFP.

Ken Floyd, commander of the police's northern district, said Tuesday: "This has been an incredibly difficult and emotional day for our community, and we are grateful for the cooperation shown as officers continue their work to advance the investigation."

Floyd told reporters the shooter was the same suspect police described as "female" in a prior emergency alert to community members, but declined to provide any details on the suspect's identity.

The police said officers were searching other homes and properties in the community to see if there were additional sites connected to the incident.

S.Cloutier--SMC