UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed deep sorrow over Tuesday’s fatal shooting at a school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, which left at least eight people dead and 25 others wounded.
Speaking at the daily news briefing on Wednesday, the Secretary-General’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said Guterres was “saddened to learn of the tragic shooting” in the rural Canadian community.
“The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to those affected and his sympathies to the Government and people of Canada,” Dujarric said.
According to media reports, the victims include at least three female students, two male students and a teacher. Two additional individuals were found dead at a nearby residence and have reportedly been identified by police as the suspect’s mother and stepbrother.
Police said the suspect, who was born male but identified as female, was found at the school with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Among the injured, two individuals were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Tumbler Ridge, a small community in the Canadian Rockies more than 1,000 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, is located near the Alberta border. The secondary school serves approximately 175 students from Grades seven to 12.