‘It’s hard to put into words the dread you feel knowing a loved one is in danger’
Tumbler Ridge town councillor Chris Norbury’s wife teaches at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where the attack took place.
Speaking to BBC World Service’s Newsday he says he got a call from Tumbler Ridge Elementary School, which his daughter attends, to say they were going into lockdown. The elementary school is located a short walk away from the town’s secondary school.
“I immediately contacted my wife,” he explains, “and found out from her that the school was [also] in lockdown, she [also] didn’t know why.”
He adds that when he asked her if she was safe he didn’t hear anything back and it wasn’t until later he was able to confirm she was okay.
“It was terrifying, it’s hard to put into words the dread and the fear that you feel knowing that a loved one is in danger,” he says.
Authorities say they know the identity of the suspected attacker but are not yet releasing further details.
In an earlier news conference, RCMP North District Commander Chief Supt Ken Floyd confirmed the suspect found dead at the school is the same person police described in an alert sent to phones. The alert described a “female in a dress with brown hair”.
The suspected attacker was found dead with a self-inflicted injury following the shooting, but police say they do not yet know their connection to the school.
We have not yet received confirmation of the suspect’s gender or identity.
