Ten people, including the suspected gunman, were killed Tuesday in a shooting in the town of Tumbler Ridge in Canada’s western province of British Columbia, the Canadian public broadcaster CBC reported, according to Anadolu Agency.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said nine victims and one suspect died in the incident, according to CBC.
Six people were found dead inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, one person died while being transported to the hospital, and two others were found dead at a residence in the community believed to be connected to the shooting, it reported.
Police said the suspect was found dead inside the school from “a self-inflicted injury.”
Around 25 people were being assessed for injuries at a local medical center, CBC reported.
A shelter-in-place order that had covered Tumbler Ridge and surrounding communities was lifted around 6.45 pm local time, authorities said.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The attack is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canada’s history, after a December 1989 shooting at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal that left 14 people dead.
Tumbler Ridge, a town of about 2,400 people in western Canada, is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, roughly 680 kilometres (422 miles) from the US border.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “devastated” by the shooting and offered “prayers and deepest condolences” to the families and friends of those killed.
“I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens,” Carney said in a post on the US social media platform X.
Carney said he spoke with British Columbia Premier David Eby to express his condolences and with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, who is coordinating the federal response.
“Our officials are in close contact with their counterparts to ensure the community is fully supported as best we can. The Government of Canada stands with all British Columbians as they confront this horrible tragedy,” he said.