00:00We're continuing to follow that breaking news out of northeastern British Columbia.
00:04Police responding to an active shooter at a secondary school in Tumblr Ridge.
00:08And Sarah is watching this for us.
00:11Yeah, the active shooter alert, this would have come about three hours ago now for Tumblr Ridge.
00:16It covers actually quite a large area, Tumblr Ridge, a small community.
00:19In addition to that, Chequen, Dawson Creek also included in this.
00:24It's RCMP saying that all of these areas, particularly Tumblr Ridge, is in a shelter in place.
00:33Do not leave your homes and do not go to the school unless directed to do so.
00:38There are two schools in Tumblr Ridge.
00:40There is the secondary school as well as the elementary school.
00:43And according to the school district website, there is a lockdown and a hold and secure in place for the two schools.
00:51What we know from the latest RCMP press release, they are saying that the original suspect is believed to have been found dead.
00:59They are right now working to confirm whether or not there is a second suspect in this.
01:05And according to the initial active shooter alert, that active shooter was described in that alert as being a woman, brown hair, wearing a dress.
01:14They are also working to determine whether there are injuries, whether there are victims in this.
01:19We have confirmed with a STARS air ambulance out of Grand Prairie that they have dispatched an air ambulance to Tumblr Ridge.
01:27But there is no word yet at this point whether or not there has been anybody airlifted.
01:31All right. And what more do you want to tell us about this story?
01:33Well, that, you know, just talking about Tumblr Ridge and the fact that I say it's a small community,
01:38we're talking about a population of about 2,400 people here.
01:41So it is very small.
01:42There are just the two schools here that we're talking about.
01:45And the MLA has already been out issuing both a statement, talking about conversations and contact that he has had with a solicitor general in the province,
01:57receiving information from the very top on this and is on his way to Tumblr Ridge to be there for support.
02:04He has actually also already clipped on this.
02:06I want to play you what he said.
02:07Unfortunately, at this point, we are facing an active shooter situation in the town of Tumblr Ridge,
02:14the beautiful community, idyllic mountain community.
02:18And excessive resources have been sent to the community in the way of RCMP enforcement,
02:26in the way of ambulance support.
02:28The other thing to say about Tumblr Ridge, and as I say, it's a small community.
02:44It is in the northeast of British Columbia.
02:46It is an area with a spotty internet service, spotty cell phone coverage.
02:51And not only is it up against the Alberta border, it shares the same time zone, the mountain time zone.
02:58And so that is why you would see the area ambulance dispatched from Grand Prairie, Alberta.
03:02Yeah, still relatively early in the day there, about 525 mountain time.
03:06Let's review kind of what we know at this point, because there are rumors online, as there often are, on these stories.
03:13And in our newsroom, we're sifting through what is confirmed and what isn't confirmed.
03:17So, in terms of one person being dead, has that been confirmed by the RCMP?
03:21That is confirmed that the suspect in this is believed to have been found dead, yes.
03:27Okay, and that there may be another person who's a suspect.
03:31There may be another suspect.
03:33They're working to confirm that, as well, working to confirm whether there have been injuries in this, victims in this.
03:38Yeah, I was watching an interview that CBC did with a local RCMP official, and struck by a couple of things.
03:45First of all, when he was asked about a second suspect, he pointed out that there are all kinds of rumors, all kinds of people saying, look, we think we've seen somebody.
03:54But often, in shooting cases, there are reports of a second shooter, and it turns out that there isn't.
04:00They just don't know that right now.
04:01The other thing I found interesting, and I don't know how much of this you've seen, is when that officer was asked, a senior officer was asked, are there victims?
04:09He didn't say no, he didn't say yes.
04:13You'd think at this point, this many hours after the alert, they would have a sense.
04:16I got the feeling that they are being very, very careful about how they release information at this point.
04:22But as far as we know officially, no confirmation of other victims.
04:27No, but let me read you right from the press release.
04:29This is the latest from the RCMP, saying that work continues to determine whether a second suspect was involved and the total number of victims involved.
04:37That's the specific wording from the RCMP.
04:40As well, I think it's worth noting, and like I say, it is spotty internet, cell phone reception in Tumblr Ridge.
04:46But for anyone who might be listening to this, the advice, the instructions from the RCMP, if you are in Tumblr Ridge, is to be alert to your surroundings right now.
04:58Observe what is going on around you.
05:00Avoid distractions such as texting, listening to headphones, or being on your cell phone.
05:05Plan to seek cover for protection.
05:07Look for places to seek cover.
05:09Place a barrier between yourself and the threat using solid objects, walls, and locked doors as protection.
05:16Do not post photos or videos of police officers' locations or movements.
05:22Be sure to keep silent.
05:24So those are some pretty intense instructions coming out from the RCMP.
05:28And like I say, that is the latest that we have from RCMP in that area.
05:31And we continue to watch for updates, obviously.
05:33A small town, RCMP say more resources are coming in, more policing resources,
05:37because, as you kind of mentioned, that shelter-in-place order,
05:41you're going to need a lot of officers to cover a lot of ground
05:43before they feel comfortable that this threat is over.
05:46And it's a story that we certainly will keep you apprised of over the next 90 minutes that we're live on the air.
05:52Sarah, thank you very much.
05:53Yeah, you bet.
05:53Thank you.
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