Who was British Columbia school shooter? What we know so far

Police have identified the attacker who opened fire at a high school and a home in British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday, killing nine people and injuring another 25, but would not release their name.

A shelter-in-place alert from the police when the attacker was still considered an active shooter, described the suspect as  “female in a dress with brown hair.” 

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Superintendent Ken Floyd confirmed to reporters during a news conference on Tuesday night that the suspect was a female, but said they will not be releasing further details on her identity.

The shooter was found dead from self-inflicted injury inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary school, where the bodies of six victims were also found. A seventh person died on the way to hospital. Two other victims were found in a home near the school.

It is unclear whether the suspect had a connection to the high school in the quiet community of Tumbler Ridge. Police believe there may be a connection within the two shootings—the one at the school and the residence nearby— but Floyd described the case as “a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation.”

He told reporters: “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.”

Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, said in a social media post that he was “devastated” by the shooting. “I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens,” he wrote.

The prime minister’s office said Carney will not be going on a planned trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia nor to Munich, Germany, where he was set to attend the Munich Security Conference.

This is a breaking news story and will be later updated with more information.