B.C. Premier, minister credit tiny RCMP detachment for saving lives in Tumbler Ridge

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. 

VICTORIA, B.C. — The five members of the tiny RCMP detachment in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., are being credited with saving lives during a shooting attack that left 10 dead, including the suspect.

British Columbia Premier David Eby says RCMP Supt. Ken Floyd told him that officers from the detachment responded to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School within two minutes.

The premier, who was speaking at a news conference in Vancouver on Tuesday evening, says that the quick arrival of officers at the school prevented what was already “quite a devastating tragedy” from “being significantly worse.”

The premier says he’s “very grateful that officers responded so quickly and so fearlessly.”

Public safety minister Nina Krieger says RCMP are “surging” resources into the community of 2,700 in northeastern B.C. and that their government will continue to work with police to make sure they have all the necessary resources to carry out the investigation.

RCMP issued its active shooter alert at 1:20 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday and cancelled at 5:45 p.m. that afternoon.

Statistics from the provincial government show that Tumbler Ridge’s RCMP detachment has remained at an authorized strength of five members since 2014 and that officers responded to 114 Criminal Code offences in 2024 for a crime rate of 44 cases per 1,000 residents.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published February 11th, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press