Ottawa, Feb 11 || Nine people were killed in a mass shooting allegedly by a person, possibly a woman, who committed suicide in a mining town in British Columbia, according to officials.
The area’s federal police Chief Superintendent Ken Floyd said on Tuesday night (local time) that seven people were found dead in a local high school in Tumbler Ridge and two others in a home.
The alleged shooter was discovered dead in the school, he said during a virtual news conference.
Floyd, who commands the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) northern district in the province, said that about 100 staff and students at the school were safe and were evacuated.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X that he was “devastated” by the “horrific acts of violence”.
There were indications that the shooter was a woman or someone in female attire.
Citing privacy reasons and the ongoing investigation, Floyd did not disclose if the shooter was a student or an adult, but confirmed that it was the same person mentioned in an active shooter alert sent to phones in the area.
That message described the suspected shooter as a brown-haired female wearing a dress.