Nine people are dead after a woman opened fire at a high school in western Canada on Wednesday, before turning the gun on herself.
Several people were found dead inside the Tumbler Ridge high school, two more people were found dead at a home believed to be connected to the incident, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
At least two other people were hospitalised with serious or life-threatening injuries, and as many as 25 people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
On Thursday, police revised an earlier death toll of 10 people (including the suspected shooter) to nine.
The suspected shooter was found dead from what appears to be a self-inflicted injury, police said, adding they did not believe there were any more suspects or ongoing threat to the public.
A police active shooter alert said the suspect was described "as female in a dress with brown hair".
Police superintendent Ken Floyd later confirmed at a press conference that the suspect described in the alert was the same person found dead in the school.
"We are not in a place to understand why or what may have motivated this tragedy," Floyd said.
He added that police are still investigating how the victims are connected to the shooter.
Police did not say how many of the victims were minors.
One of Canada's deadliest mass casualty incidents
Tumbler Ridge is a remote municipality — with a population of around 2,400 people — in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northern British Columbia, approximately 1,155km north-east of Vancouver.
Images of the town show a snow-covered landscape filled with pine trees.
"Multiple injuries and multiple deceased were inside the school as officers progressed through the scene," Floyd told reporters.
"We're still triaging other victims, and I don't have updates on whether that number could rise. The scene was very dramatic, and there are multiple victims that are still being cared for," Floyd said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was devastated by the shooting and suspended a planned trip to the Munich Security Conference.
"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," he wrote on X.
"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."
British Columbia Premier David Eby called it an "unimaginable tragedy".
In April 2020, a 51-year-old man disguised in a police uniform and driving a fake police car shot and killed 22 people in a 13-hour rampage in Nova Scotia, before police killed him at a gas station about 90km from the site of his first killings.
In Canada's worst school shooting, in December 1989, a gunman killed 14 female students and wounded 13 at the École Polytechnique in Montreal, before committing suicide.
Readers seeking crisis support can ring Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.
Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
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