A visibly moved Mark Carney Canadians vowed to kill themselves after a mass shooting in a small western town left nine people dead and then one of the deadliest such attacks in the country’s history.
“This is obviously a very difficult day for the country,” the Canadian prime minister said Wednesday, at one point looking close to tears. “This morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without the ones they love.”
Talked to reporters A day after the shooting Adding to the attack on the high school, Carney added: “We will get through this. We will learn from this. But right now, it’s time for Canadians to always come together in these situations, these terrible situations, to support each other, to grieve together and to grow together.”
Carney, who had already suspended plans to travel to Germany for the high-level Munich security conference, said he had ordered flags on all government buildings to be flown at half-mast for the next seven days. At Parliament in Ottawa, Carney and other parties planned a moment of silence.
The attack sent shockwaves through Canada, where mass shootings are relatively rare, especially compared to the US. Although the country has relatively high levels of gun ownership, it imposes much stricter laws than its southern neighbor. Ban on assault-style firearms And A moratorium on the sale of handguns.
Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangari is also being sent to Tumbler Ridge, a small community of fewer than 2,500 residents in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, more than 1,000km (600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, Carney said.
On Tuesday, police officers responding to reports of shootings found six people dead at the town’s high school. Two other bodies were found at the residence associated with the incident, and another person died en route to the hospital. The suspected shooter was found dead at the school, police said.
At least two people were hospitalized with serious or life-threatening injuries, and 25 people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The town’s mayor, Darryl Krakowka, said the small community is like a “big family.”
“I was broke,” Krakowka said. “I’ve lived here for 18 years. I probably know every single one of the victims.”
British Columbia’s public safety minister, Nina Krieger, said “speed and professionalism” saved lives and that a small detachment from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police “responded within two minutes”.
An active-shooter alert sent out by police to people in the area described the suspect as a “female with brown hair.” Police Supt Ken Floyd later confirmed at a news conference that the suspect described in the alert was the man found dead at the school.
Floyd said police would not comment on the attacker’s motive. “We are following all leads to determine a connection to the shooter,” he said. “I think we’ll struggle to figure out the ‘why,’ but we’ll try our best to figure out what happened.”
It was not clear how many of the dead or injured were minors.
A 12-year-old girl is said to be “fighting for her life” in a Vancouver hospital after she was shot in the head and neck, according to a widely shared Facebook post written by the girl’s mother, Sia Edmonds, according to local media.
“She was lucky, I think. My condolences to the other families at this sad time,” the post read. “It doesn’t even seem real.”
The Tumbler Ridge district released a statement Tuesday afternoon, calling the shooting a “deeply distressing” incident. “We recognize that many residents are shocked, panicked and overwhelmed,” the district said. “In the coming days, we know this will be difficult for many to process. Please check in with each other, lean on the support available, and know that Tumbler Ridge is a strong and caring community.”
Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has 160 students in grades seven through 12, ages 12 to 18, according to its website. School officials said the school will remain closed for the rest of the week and counseling will be available to those who need it.
“There are no words to ease the fear and pain that incidents like this cause in the school community,” the Tumbler Ridge Parent Advisory Council said in a statement. “We want families to know that the safety and well-being of students and staff is of the utmost importance, and we are grateful to the first responders and emergency personnel who acted quickly and professionally.”
On Tuesday, the town’s health center was placed under code orange , which indicates a mass-casualty event or large-scale emergency response. But given the rural nature of the community, at least two victims were airlifted to major hospitals. Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) said they were called to the incident on their plane from Grande Prairie, Alberta.
It was the second deadliest school shooting in Canadian history. In 1989, a gunman killed 14 students at L’Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal in an attack targeting women. In 2016, five people were killed in a mass shooting in La Loche, Saskatchewan.
After The worst mass shooting in the country22 deaths in Nova Scotia in 2020, Canada bans nearly 1,500 models of assault weapons.
British Columbia Prime Minister David Eby described Tuesday’s attack as an “unimaginable tragedy.”
As a father of three, Eby said news of the shooting “makes you want to hug your kids a little bit tighter.”
“Wrap these families with love. Not just tonight but into tomorrow and into the future. It will reverberate for years to come,” he said.
