Mounted Police say they believe there could be a link between the fatal shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary school and a residence where two people were found dead in the town.
Chief Supt Ken Floyd said: “We believe they’re connected but we are not in a position to provide that definitively right now at this time and what that connection may or may not be.”
He described the mass casualty incident as “a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation”.
A student from Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has spoken to CBC Radio West about being “barricaded” in a classroom during the fatal shooting.
Darian Quist, a Grade 12 student, says he got to class at 13:30 local time (20:30 GMT) when an alarm went off in the hallways with instructions to close the doors for a lockdown.
Grade 12 in Canada is the final year of secondary school, it is equivalent to Year 13 – the last year of A-Levels – in the UK.
Quist tells the news outlet that the doors were closed for a while before he and his classmates realised something was wrong. He says he was receiving photos on his phone from the scene.
Quist and his classmates “got tables and barricaded the doors” for over two hours until police arrived to escort them out of the school, he tells CBC.
British Columbia’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Nina Krieger says police arrived at Tumbler Ridge Secondary school “within two minutes” of receiving the call of an active shooting.
“This is a small tight-knit community,” Krieger says and thanks the responding officers “for their courage, for their dedication and professionalism”.
“No doubt saving lives today,” she adds.
Earlier, in a statement, Krieger said the “devastating events are sending shockwaves through the community and the entire province”.
