The shooting occurred at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northeastern BC.
Students walk out of the school building with their hands up after an assailant opened fire at a high school in the town of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on Feb. 10, 2026. Western Standard/Jordon Kosik/Handout via Reuters
A shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a residence in northeastern B.C. on Feb. 10 left 9 people dead, including the suspect, and more than 25 others injured. The RCMP said two of the injured are in life-threatening conditions.
The suspect is believed to have died from a self-inflicted injury, police said.
The RCMP responded to a report of an active shooter at the school around 1:20 p.m. local time and found six people and the suspect dead. Two victims with life-threatening injuries were airlifted to hospital.
An RCMP officer at an investigation scene related to a school shooting incident in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on Feb. 10, 2026. Melody Gjertsen
Police said they later discovered two more deceased individuals at a “secondary location,” described as a residence connected to the school shooting.
“Officers are conducting further searches of additional homes and properties to determine whether anyone else may be injured or otherwise linked to today’s events,” the RCMP said on the evening of Feb. 10.
Residents of the small town of Tumbler Ridge, about 100 kilometres south of Dawson Creek, B.C., had earlier been told to stay indoors as more police resources were sent there from detachments in the neighbouring area. The RCMP lifted the shelter-in-place order later on Feb. 10.
Trent Ernst, publisher and reporter at the local news outlet Tumbler Ridge Lines, told The Epoch Times in an interview that community members received alerts on their phones in the afternoon.
Ernst, who formerly taught at the town’s high school about six years ago, said people in the small community likely know who the shooter was but can’t publicly report it. The RCMP have said they are not releasing further details at this time due to privacy concerns and because the matter remains under investigation.
Ernst said while the lockdown order was in place, students were evacuated from the school and told to gather at a community centre.
RCMP vehicles at a residence police are investigating in connection with a school shooting incident in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on Feb. 10, 2026. Melody Gjertsen
“The kids from the school have been released to go to the community centre, and almost all the parents have gone to the community centre, but when they arrive in the community centre, they’re being put on lockdown too,” he said before the lockdown was lifted.
Dawn Wagner, who serves as coordinator of the town’s youth centre, said she’s been in touch with one of the students from the high school who survived the shooting.
“She was locked down in a classroom with her teacher and other students, and she doesn’t even know who was shot,” Wagner said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
She added that her son works at the community centre just across the field from the high school. She said he had just gone outside to clear some snow around the curling rink earlier in the day when he heard the intruder alert sound at the high school and then saw police vehicles and first-responders approach with lights flashing.
George Rowe, who serves as pastor at the Tumbler Ridge Fellowship Baptist Church, said he has been in contact with parishioners and friends during the day as the town deals with the unfolding events.
“We’ve been in contact with many of our parishioners and friends to make sure they’re doing okay, to kind of get our head wrapped around this,” Rowe said in an interview with The Epoch Times.
Rowe said there have been “lots of rumours” about what is going on and who may be responsible but noted that he “can’t make any kind of comments on that.”
He said that the community has always been a quiet and peaceful place to live without anything of this kind happening before.
“My wife and I and family, we’ve been here for 35 years, and we raised our kids here and our grandkids, and we have never had anything like this happen,” he said. “It’s been a very quiet community, a loving community.”
Vehicles are parked outside the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, the site of a deadly shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on Feb. 10, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Trent Ernst/Tumbler RidgeLines/via Reuters
RCMP North District Commander Supt. Ken Floyd said on Feb. 10 that police are currently “not in a position” to understand why the shooting took place. He said about 100 students and staff were evacuated from the school after officers were alerted to the incident.
Peace River South’s School District 59 said in a Feb. 10 statement that the school will be closed for the rest of the week.
“The district will make supports available and once we have the locations for where the supports will be we will put that information on social media,” the school district said.
B.C. Premier David Eby expressed his sympathies over the tragedy and said the province will support the community.
“Our hearts are in Tumbler Ridge tonight with the families of those who have lost loved ones,” Eby said. “Government will ensure every possible support for community members in the coming days, as we all try to come to terms with this unimaginable tragedy.”
B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety Nina Krieger said the tragedy has sent “shockwaves” through the entire province.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the entire Tumbler Ridge community,” Krieger said. “We will deploy every resource to support the investigation and the people of Tumbler Ridge.”
B.C. Conservative MLA Larry Neufeld, who represents the Peace River South riding, which includes Tumbler Ridge, said he’s helping to ensure the community receives all the resources it needs.
“I am 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,” Neufeld said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney also offered his condolences.
“Our ability to come together in crisis is the best of our country — our empathy, our unity, and our compassion for each other,” Carney said. He added that he had spoken with Eby and that the federal response will be coordinated by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he is “devastated” to hear of the tragedy.
“Our prayers are with the families, students, teachers, first responders, and the entire community grieving this profound loss,” Poilievre said.
Tumbler Ridge, located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains close to the Alberta border, was built around the coal industry and was incorporated in the early 1980s. The town has a population of about 2,400, according to the most recent census.