UN Chief Mourns Victims of Deadly School Shooting in Canada

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed deep sorrow over a deadly shooting at a school in rural Canada that left at least eight people dead and 25 others injured.

Guterres was “saddened to learn of the tragic shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said during the UN’s daily news briefing on Wednesday.

“The Secretary-General extends his deepest condolences to all those affected and conveys his sympathies to the Government and people of Canada,” Dujarric stated.

Media reports indicated that the victims included at least three female students, two male students and a teacher. Two additional bodies were later discovered at a nearby residence and were identified by local police as the suspect’s mother and stepbrother.

Police said the suspect, who was born male but was transitioning and identified as female, was found dead at the school from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

At least two of the injured victims were airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Tumbler Ridge, located in the Canadian Rockies more than 1,000 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, is a small community near the Alberta border. The secondary school serves about 175 students from Grades 7 to 12.