A gunman opened fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a connected residence in a remote northeastern British Columbia community on Tuesday, killing nine people and wounding at least 25 others in one of Canada’s deadliest school shootings in decades.
The BBC reported that Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) received a report of an active shooter at the school at approximately 1:20 p.m. local time. Officers arrived within two minutes, according to provincial officials.
Six victims were found dead inside the school, a seventh died en route to hospital, and two more bodies were discovered at a nearby home police believe is linked to the attack. The suspected shooter — described in an initial alert as a woman with brown hair wearing a dress — was found dead inside the school from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
As of Wednesday morning, authorities say approximately 25 people were reportedly treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the local health center; two others were airlifted with serious or life-threatening wounds. The school has about 160–175 students in Grades 7–12. A shelter-in-place order for the town of roughly 2,400 residents was lifted late Tuesday afternoon.
RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd told reporters, “Seven people were found dead in Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, including a person believed to be the shooter, who died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted injury.”
Police have identified the shooter but have not released the name or further details, citing ongoing family notifications and the investigation. No motive has been determined. Officers said they expect to “struggle” to establish one.
Juno News, a local news outlet hosted on Substack published an exclusive report claiming the shooter was a student named Jesse Strang, according to the teen’s uncle, Russell Strang. The outlet said a public YouTube account believed to be owned by Jesse features the transgender flag and uses “she/her” pronouns.
On X, LibsofTikTok posted images believed to be of Jesse Strang (pictured above).
Survivors described chaotic scenes of barricading classrooms and waiting hours for rescue. Twelfth-grade student Darian Quist told reporters his class barricaded doors with tables after an alarm sounded. “It felt like I was somewhere that I had only seen across a TV,” he said.
Teacher Jarbas Noronha, who hid with 15 students in an auto-mechanics shop for more than two hours, said, “I don’t wish on any young person to have to go through what my students went through today.”
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka, whose community markets itself as the “land of dinosaurs and waterfalls,” described the town as one big family. “I will know every victim,” he said. “I’ve been here 19 years, and we’re a small community. I don’t call them residents. I call them family.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby called the attack “a devastating and unimaginable tragedy” and said police response time “no doubt saved lives.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who postponed a planned trip overseas, said, “The nation mourns with you… Canada stands by you.” Flags on federal buildings will fly at half-mast for seven days.
The shooting is the deadliest at a Canadian school since the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, which killed 14 women. Mass shootings remain rare in Canada, which has stricter gun laws than the United States.
The RCMP’s major crimes section is leading the investigation. Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree and Premier Eby plan to visit the community. Mental-health counsellors have been dispatched, and schools in Tumbler Ridge remain closed for the week.
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Christina Botteri is the Executive Editor at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow her on x @christinakb.
Photo “Jesse Strang” by LibsofTikTok.
Another sick person who has been taken in by the liberal gender dysphoria BS who kills a number of innocent people. WHEN ARE THESE SICK PEOPLE GOING TO BE STOPPED?
Watch the liberal Canadian government do NOTHING about this mental illness and instead penalize NORMAL law abiding gun owners.