Tumbler Ridge B.C. school shooting: 10 dead including shooter, 27 injured

RCMP in Tumbler Ridge issued an emergency alert on Tuesday afternoon for an active shooter following reports of a shooting at a school.

When officers entered the school on Tuesday afternoon, they found six victims dead, RCMP confirmed. Two more victims were found at another location, while another victim died on the way to hospital.

An individual believed to be the shooter was also found dead with what appears to be a self‑inflicted injury.

Two other injured people have been airlifted to hospital with serious or life‑threatening injuries.

Approximately 25 others were assessed and triaged at the local medical centre for non‑life‑threatening injuries.

RCMP Supt. Ken Floyd, North District Commander, said they have identified the shooter, but they are not releasing their identity at this time.

He would not provide details on how many victims were children or adults and did not provide any information on the weapon or weapons used.

A Grade 9 student told Global News that he had to hide in a closet in a classroom with other children and they didn’t know what was going on.

The active shooter alert was lifted at 5:46 p.m. PT.

The suspect was originally described as a female in a dress with brown hair.

In a post on social media, School District 59 said it was aware of a lockdown and secure and hold at Tumbler Ridge Secondary and Tumbler Ridge Elementary.

Just after 5 p.m. PT, Tumbler Ridge Elementary School confirmed that they can release their students to their parents or guardians.

The elementary and secondary schools will be closed for the remainder of the week, the district confirmed.

BC Emergency Health Services from surrounding areas also responded, they confirmed.

Alberta-based STARS Air Ambulance, which airlifts critically sick and injured patients to hospital, confirmed it sent a crew from Grande Prairie to help in Tumbler Ridge, but did not transport any patients.

The District of Tumbler Ridge issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying that the community “experienced a deeply distressing incident. Our hearts are with all those affected, and we recognize that many residents may be feeling shocked, scared, and overwhelmed.”

The district said they are grateful for the swift response of local emergency services and first responders and additional support is already in the community or on its way.

“In the days ahead, we know this will be difficult for many to process,” the statement read.

“Please check in on one another, lean on available supports, and know that Tumbler Ridge is a strong and caring community. We will get through this together.”

Extremely concerning situation unfolding in Tumbler Ridge. Residents of Tumbler Ridge are being asked to stay indoors as police respond to a report of an active shooter.

All our thoughts are with people in Tumbler Ridge. I’ve spoken to the mayor and local MLA, and we are… pic.twitter.com/zq92sPBSFS

— Nina Krieger (@NinaKriegerBC) February 10, 2026

Longtime resident Garret Golhof told Global News he has never seen anything like this in his community.

“I right away locked the doors like I said, and I told the care aid there had been a shooting and she found out that her granddaughter had been injured in this and taken to the clinic,” he said.

B.C. Premier David Eby said at a press conference on Tuesday night that this is a devastating and unimaginable tragedy.

“We can’t imagine what the community is going through, but I know it’s causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight,” he said.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to ask British Columbians, to ask all Canadians to wrap the people of Tumbler Ridge, wrap these families with love, not just tonight, but tomorrow and into the future. This is something that will reverberate for years to come. As British Columbians, I know that one of the things we do best is look after each other. And I’m asking British Columbians to look after the people of Tumbler Ridge tonight.”

Nina Krieger, B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, said this is only the beginning of a long road of recovery.

“The shock waves of this horrific event will continue to reverberate through the community and throughout the country for some time,” she said.

“Education ministry staff have been in continued contact with the school district today, and we are actively mobilizing trauma and crisis response supports. We are sending trauma-informed counsellors to the region to support kids and their families during this time.”

Krieger said there is also a psychiatric liaison nurse working in the community and another will be starting at 10 p.m. and working through the night.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Larry Neufeld, the MLA for Peace River South, said he was leaving Victoria immediately to return to his riding.

“I have been in direct contact with the Solicitor General to receive updates and to ensure all necessary provincial resources are being made available to support local law enforcement and emergency responders,” he said.

“Public safety is the absolute priority.”

Tumbler Ridge is located in northeastern B.C., south of Chetwynd, about 100 kilometres west of the Alberta-B.C. border.

The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.

Tuesday’s shooting was the deadliest attack connected to a Canadian school in nearly 40 years.

More than two dozen people were shot during the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989, killing 14 women before the gunman took his own life.

Another shooting in Montreal in 2006 left one person dead at Dawson College and 20 others injured after a man opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon. The shooter was killed in a police gunfight.

The last time such deadly violence was carried out against multiple people in the halls of a Canadian school was a decade ago in northern Saskatchewan.

On Jan. 22, 2016, four people were killed and seven others injured in a shooting spree in the remote Dene community of La Loche. A student, who was 17 at the time, pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and attempted murder.

Prime Minister Mark Carney took to social media to express his shock and sadness at what happened.

I am devastated by today’s horrific shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. My prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence.

I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) February 11, 2026

He confirmed that he will be postponing his announcement and suspending his travel plans out of the country for the time being.

— with files from The Canadian Press and Karen Bartko

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Mental health supports are available to those who need them.

BC Mental Health Support Line: 310-6789

Kids Help Phone: Text ‘CONNECT’ to 686868

by Amy Judd / Global

Tumbler Ridge B.C. school shooting: 10 dead including shooter, 27 injured

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