Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre joined hands at a candlelight vigil in Tumbler Ridge after a mass shooting devastated the small community. Authorities say an 18-year-old who identified as a transgender woman killed six people at the school and two others at a residence before dying by suicide; six victims from the school were named. Two survivors remain hospitalized in Vancouver. Officials praised acts of courage by teachers and students, promised safe schooling alternatives, and emphasized national unity and community support.
Trudeau and Poilievre Unite at Candlelight Vigil in Tumbler Ridge After Deadly School Shooting
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pays tribute at a makeshift memorial at the steps of the town hall, three days after the mass shootings in the town of Tumbler Ridge.Photograph: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters(Photograph: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood alongside Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre at a candlelight vigil in Tumbler Ridge, offering condolences and solidarity to a community reeling from a recent mass shooting that claimed multiple lives.
Flanked by First Nations chiefs and local officials, the two leaders set aside recent political differences, held hands in a public display of unity and met privately with grieving families. Nearly 2,000 residents braved the cold to attend the vigil.
“I know that nothing I can say will bring your children home,” the prime minister told the crowd. “I know that no words from me or anyone can fill the silence in your homes tonight, and I won’t pretend otherwise.”
Victims Named; Two Remain Hospitalized
Authorities say an 18-year-old who identified as a transgender woman opened fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday. The attacker also fatally shot her mother and stepbrother at a residence before traveling to the school, where five students and one teacher were killed. The attacker later died by suicide.
At the vigil and in recent police releases, leaders named the six victims from the school as Kylie Smith, Abel Mwansa, Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert, Ezekiel Schofield and educator Shannda Aviugana-Durand. Two other students — 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who suffered wounds to the head and neck, and 19-year-old Paige Hoekstra — remain hospitalized in Vancouver.
Officials Describe Chaotic Response
Dwayne McDonald, deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia, said officers encountered a chaotic scene when they arrived: fire alarms sounding and people shouting that the suspect was inside. He said the attacker did not appear to be targeting a specific person.
“This suspect was, for lack of a better term, hunting,” McDonald said. “They were prepared and engaging anybody and everybody they could come in contact with.”
McDonald described officers moving up a stairwell and encountering gunfire; seconds later there was further gunfire, and the attacker took their own life, officials said after reviewing video.
Community Response and Praise for Courage
British Columbia Premier David Eby praised the quick thinking of school staff and older students. He singled out a teacher who barricaded a classroom and said that, even though the teacher’s own child briefly left the room, the teacher had done “everything right.” Eby assured families that no student would be forced to return to the school until safe alternatives are in place.
Mayor Darryl Krakowka urged the community to give one another space and time to grieve while acknowledging the town’s resilience. “Tumbler Ridge has been shaken, but not broken,” he said.
As federal and local leaders offered support, many residents praised the show of unity between the nation’s political leaders and the visible presence of Indigenous elders and community representatives at the vigil.
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