The suspect of the Tumbler Ridge massacrewho left eight dead in British Columbia, in western Canada, is an 18-year-old transgender woman, who also shot at law enforcement, police announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
When the police arrived at the scene of the killing in a middle school, “shots were fired in their direction” by this person, born male, explained the assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Dwayne McDonald. She also shot her mother and brother, he added.
“We have no idea yet regarding mobile (…) It would be too early to speculate on motivations at this stage.”continued the deputy commissioner. It was one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country.
Canadian police said Wednesday afternoon that the killing had left eight victims, including six in the middle school, instead of nine as authorities had previously reported. “I would like to correct some information that was released yesterday [mardi] and clarify that a total of nine people died” as a result of the attack, including the suspect in the killing, who also died, said Dwayne McDonald. “Initially we thought that one of the victims, a woman who suffered serious injuries and had been transported from the scene [de crime] by our members [des forces de l’ordre vers l’hôpital] had succumbed to his injuries. Police have since confirmed this was not the case. She is alive »he said.
Mark Carney wants to “learn lessons”
Canada is “in mourning”declared Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday, the day after this killing of a “unbelievable cruelty”. “We will overcome this ordeal. We will learn from this”promised the head of government, calling on Canadians to ” gathering “ in a country in shock, unaccustomed to killings of this type unlike its 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 some 2,300 inhabitants at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in the province of British Columbia, several hours’ drive from any urban center.
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.