A tragic shooting incident unfolded on Tuesday in Tumbler Ridge, a quiet and remote community in British Columbia. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that nine individuals were killed and 25 others sustained injuries across a local high school and a residence. The person believed to be the shooter was found deceased at the school, seemingly from a self-inflicted injury.
Police responded to an active shooter report around 1:20 p.m. local time, discovering six fatalities at the high school and another person dying en route to the hospital. Two more victims were found at a nearby residence, which investigators believe is connected to the school incident. Search operations continued in the area for any additional injured individuals or connections to the shootings. Superintendent Ken Floyd, North District commander of the British Columbia RCMP, stated that the shooter’s motive remains unknown, and their identity or age has not been publicly released, though a prior police alert described the suspect as a ‘female in a dress with brown hair’. All other injuries reported were non-life-threatening.
Premier David Eby of British Columbia extended his condolences and assured that the threat to the community had ended. The incident prompted a shelter-in-place order, which was lifted at 5:45 p.m. Nina Krieger, the province’s public safety minister, described the event as “one of the worst mass shootings in our province’s and country’s history.”
In the immediate aftermath, Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and Tumbler Ridge Elementary School were closed for the remainder of the week, as was the Northern Lights College campus co-located at the secondary school. The small size of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, with its 160 to 175 students, fosters a “tremendous sense of community” between staff and students, making the tragedy even more deeply felt.
Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Tumbler Ridge is a remote town of approximately 2,400 residents, originally founded as a coal-mining hub. Its isolation means cellphone service quickly fades just outside town. The natural beauty of expansive mountain ranges and a UNESCO-recognized geological park define the area, making the violence particularly jarring. Policing in most of rural British Columbia, including Tumbler Ridge, is handled by federal officers due to sparse populations.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office announced the postponement of an upcoming announcement and planned travel, including a trip to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, in light of the events. He condemned the shootings as “horrific acts of violence” and expressed solidarity with grieving Canadians, praising the courage of first responders.
The medical response centered at the Tumbler Ridge Health Center, a small facility where the 25 injured were assessed. The center operated under restricted access, advising non-urgent visits to be delayed, and is expected to resume normal operations Wednesday morning. Neighboring Alberta offered medical assistance, including air ambulance services, though it wasn’t specified if these were utilized.
This incident marks the third deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history, matching a 1996 event in Vernon, British Columbia, which also resulted in 10 deaths. More severe tragedies include the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, where 14 women were killed, and the 2020 Nova Scotia shooting that claimed 22 lives. Remarkably, this is the second mass casualty event in British Columbia within a year; in April 2025, 11 people died when a man drove an SUV into a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in Vancouver.
The Tumbler Ridge shootings occur amidst ongoing challenges for Canada’s federal government concerning its national gun buyback program. This initiative was launched following the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting, which spurred Justin Trudeau’s government to ban 1,500 types of assault-style weapons and subsequently freeze handgun sales. However, the multi-million dollar buyback, particularly targeting hunting rifles crucial in rural and Indigenous communities, has faced significant political unpopularity, logistical difficulties, and criticism from gun owners and even within the Liberal government due to enforcement resource concerns.