Nine killed in rare school shooting in rural Canada (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Let's move on now to the tragic events in Canada, because the Prime Minister there, Mark Carney, says he is devastated after nine people were killed and dozens injured in a shooting in the west of the country. He was clearly emotional as he spoke to journalists.

[00:00:18] Speaker 2: Parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers, didn't tumble the original wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you.

[00:00:35] Speaker 1: Well, the school is in British Columbia in a rural town called Tumbler Ridge. Police say six of those killed were found inside a high school and one person died on the way to hospital. The suspect's body was also found at the school. Two more people were found dead inside a residence nearby. Officials say they know the attacker's identity, but so far have not publicly revealed the name or gender. Alison Freeman reports.

[00:01:02] Speaker 3: Students flee the horror of a mass shooting in their school. Nine people have been killed and 25 injured in the rural Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge. Police said the attacker also took their own life. Two of the victims were found in a house in the town. One died on the way to hospital. Six others died at the school.

[00:01:24] Speaker 4: Our principal goes throughout the halls and she's saying people close your doors, lock down, stuff like that. I thought it was a secure and hold and something like that at first. So, but once things started circulating, we realized how serious it really was. So we all barricaded up the doors with some iron tables and sat in that room for around two hours. I was on my phone with my mother the entire time.

[00:01:48] Speaker 3: Tumbler Ridge has a small population of fewer than two and a half thousand people. The shooting has had a profound effect on everyone here.

[00:01:58] Speaker 5: The people of Tumbler Ridge remain in a state of crisis following one of the worst mass shootings in our province's and country's history. This is a devastating day for a close-knit community and the loss being felt is profound.

[00:02:17] Speaker 6: We can't imagine what the community is going through, but I know it's causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight. It makes us think about our kids' safety when they're going to school. We take it for granted. You go to school, you come home safe. And events like this give us pause.

[00:02:38] Speaker 3: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was devastated. Posting on X, my prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence. The Government of Canada stands with all British Columbians as they confront this horrible tragedy. The town is remote, sitting at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, a thousand miles north of Vancouver. It's community left shaken by what is an extremely rare event in Canada.

[00:03:10] Speaker 7: This kind of thing just doesn't happen here. I can count kind of on one hand the instances that I recall knowing about, not that have happened necessarily in my lifetime, but certainly this is a rarity and it's something that I don't think we're really aware of how to process here.

[00:03:29] Speaker 3: Police say the identity of the attacker is known, but have so far not revealed their name or gender. This is a tragedy though, which will no doubt affect everyone in this tight-knit community. Alison Freeman, BBC News.