Tumbler Ridge schools to stay closed for rest of week after tragedy

Update, February 11th, 6:30 p.m.: RCMP revised the death toll to nine after one person did not succumb to their injuries as was believed. 

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. — Schools in Tumbler Ridge will be closed for the rest of the week after a mass shooting in the community. 

Ten people are dead after the incident on the afternoon of February 10th and some 25 more are being treated for injuries. 

Seven of those who passed – including the suspected shooter – were discovered at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, with another succumbing to their injuries on the way to the hospital and a further pair found deceased in another, unnamed location. 

School District 59 will not be reopening Tumbler Ridge Secondary School or Tumbler Ridge Elementary School for the rest of the week, and the Northern Lights College campus in the community is also staying closed. 

School District 59 posted an update: “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.”

Paramedic public information officer with the BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), Brian Twaites, said the Provincial Health Services Authority’s ‘disaster psychological support’ team was deployed as the incident unfolded and remains available to “reinforce local supports,” such as through both the school district and RCMP victim services.

While the incident was unfolding, Northern Health’s Tumbler Ridge Health Centre was “on restricted access,” the health authority said, and residents were asked to postpone any non-urgent or non-essential visits. However, access to the centre will be as usual for its regular hours on February 11th.