The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said that 10 people, including the suspected shooter, have been killed in a shooting at a high school and a nearby location in the province of British Columbia, with many people injured.

The Tumbler Ridge RCMP said in a statement on Tuesday that six people were found dead inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, while another person died on the way to hospital, according to police.

Another two people were found dead at a home that police believe is connected to the shooting.

The RCMP said the incident involved an “active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School” in British Columbia, and that “an individual believed to be the shooter was also found deceased with what appears to be a self‑inflicted injury”.

Two people were “airlifted to hospital with serious or life‑threatening injuries” and approximately 25 others were “being assessed and triaged at the local medical centre for non‑life‑threatening injuries”, the RCMP added.

All remaining students and staff were safely evacuated from the school, police said.

Located in the foothills of the British Columbia Rocky Mountains, more than 1,100 km (685 miles) north of Vancouver, the township of Tumbler Ridge has a population of fewer than 3,000 people.

Canadian media have reported that the shooter was female, but the RCMP declined to provide any details on the suspect’s identity in a news conference on Tuesday.

Police also remain tight lipped about the age of the victims and the weapon or weapons used in the attack, citing privacy concerns and an ongoing investigation by the RCMP’s Major Crimes Unit.

The RCMP said officers were searching other homes and properties in the community to see if there were additional sites connected to the incident.

“We are not in a place now to be able to understand why and what may have motivated this tragedy, said the RCMP’s Northern District Commander Ken Floyd.

“This was a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation and the swift cooperation from the school, first responders and community played a critical role in our response,” Floyd said.

David Eby, the British Columbia premier, described the mass shooting as an “unimaginable tragedy” and said the government would “ensure every possible support for community members in the coming days”.

“Our hearts are in Tumbler Ridge tonight with the families of those who have lost loved ones,” Eby said.

Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney was reported to have suspended his departure for a security conference in Munich, Germany to deal with the tragedy at home.

“I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens,” Carney wrote in a post on social media.

Canada has stricter gun ownership laws than its neighbour, the United States, but a string of mass shootings in recent years has prompted calls for tougher control measures.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced gun control measures in 2022, including a “freeze” on the buying and selling of handguns in the country. (Al Jazeera, excluding headline)

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