In British Columbia, a person opened fire Tuesday in a high school and a residence in a small isolated town, killing eight people and injuring around thirty before killing himself, according to local police. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings to occur in Canada in recent years.

Published on: 02/11/2026 - 04:27 Modified on: 02/11/2026 - 21:38

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“One of the worst mass killings in the history” of Canada. The country is "in mourning", Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Wednesday February 11, the day after a massacre which left eight dead and around thirty injured in a small isolated town in the west of the country, where a person opened fire in a middle school.

“We will overcome this ordeal. We will learn from it,” the Prime Minister also promised, calling on Canadians to “come together” in a country in shock, unaccustomed to killings of this type unlike the American neighbor. Flags on government buildings will be flown at half-mast for a week.

The attack took place in Tumbler Ridge, a small isolated town of 2,300 inhabitants at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in the province of British Columbia, several hours' drive from any urban center. According to the first "alert" sent by police to residents on Tuesday, the suspect was described "as a dark-haired woman wearing a dress." But authorities have not confirmed.

The suspect, whose gender is the subject of speculation, died after "a self-inflicted injury", according to police. Ken Floyd, a Canadian police official, remained cautious but indicated that the shooter was indeed the person mentioned in the alert.

Canadian police said Wednesday afternoon that the killing had left eight victims, instead of nine as authorities had previously indicated. "Initially, we thought that one of the victims, a woman who suffered serious injuries and who had been transported from the (crime) scene by our members (law enforcement to the hospital, editor's note) had succumbed to her injuries. Police have since confirmed that this was not the case. She is alive," he said.

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A “great tragedy”

A total of 27 people were injured, two of them seriously, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a press release.

Nina Krieger, the province's Minister of Public Safety, called it "one of the worst mass shootings in the history" of Canada. “We are going to come together and make sure we listen to those who want to speak” after this “great tragedy,” Darryl Krakowka, the mayor of Tumbler Ridge, told public broadcaster CBC.

Mark Carney did not plan to go there but the Canadian Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree, and the Premier of the province, David Eby, were expected on Wednesday.

The British royal family said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by this tragedy, in a press release from King Charles III, also head of state of Canada.

“The horror has struck (...). Thoughts of the families of the victims, the injured and the entire educational community. France stands alongside the Canadians,” declared Emmanuel Macron on X.

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School confined

This is the second killing in British Columbia in less than a year. In April 2025, a man killed 11 people in Vancouver when he drove his truck into a crowd celebrating a Filipino cultural festival. But unlike what happens south of the border in the United States, this type of attack is exceptional in Canadian schools.

The town of Tumbler Ridge is known for its outdoor tourism, with proximity to mountains and a geologic park.

"My youngest child has just graduated from high school (...). My eldest daughter works 300 meters from the school. It was a close call," Trent Ernst, local journalist and former substitute teacher at Tumbler Ridge High School, told AFP on Tuesday evening. “School shootings in Canada were once every few years (...). But when it happens in your city, things go completely off the rails,” he added.

Darian Quist, a student at the establishment, explained to public broadcaster CBC that he was in mechanics class when they were told that the school was on lockdown. Without initially knowing if it was serious, he began receiving "terrible" photos showing the carnage at the school.

“We took tables and barricaded the doors for more than two hours,” he said, until the police arrived to escort them out of the establishment.

“We think that this kind of thing never happens,” said his mother, Shelley Quist, very moved. "I'm not going to take my eyes off him for a while now," she added of her son, who is safe.

“Terrible scene”

The first alert received early this afternoon was for an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge School. Arriving on the scene, the police first discovered six bodies, not including the suspect.

A seventh person shot at the school died while being transported to hospital.

Subsequently, the police "identified a second location (...) linked to the assault, where two other victims were found dead in a residence", according to a press release. Ken Floyd described a “terrible scene” when law enforcement arrived.

Although killings are less frequent in Canada than in the United States, statistics over the last decade show a constant increase in crimes committed with firearms.

In 2020, Canada banned 1,500 models of assault weapons in response to the deadliest mass shooting in its history, which left 22 dead in the province of Nova Scotia (east).

With AFP

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