Prime Minister Mark Carney and other federal leaders are attending a vigil mourning the victims of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., this evening.
The mass shooting on Tuesday, which left eight dead including five students, was perpetrated by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who police say died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
It has rocked the tight-knit community of Tumbler Ridge in northeast B.C., as well as the country as a whole.
Partisan politics are largely being put aside as federal leaders join Friday’s vigil.
Carney is joined by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and NDP interim Leader Don Davies, among others.
Carney, party leaders mourn victims of school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
The vigil started with attendees singing O Canada, followed by Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka asking for a moment of silence to honour the victims.
“None of us walks through this alone,” Krakowka said during his opening speech.
“This evening is about remembrance, it’s about reflection, it’s about love.”
Tumbler Ridge mayor opens vigil by asking for prayers
Carney began his remarks to the vigil by acknowledging previous crises in Tumbler Ridge — tough economic times and wildfires — and how the community came together to support each other then.
“And when the unimaginable happened on Tuesday, you were there again. First responders at the school in less than two minutes,” he said.
“You held each other — as you’re holding each other right now.”
Carney went on to remember some of the victims in the shooting, and asked for prayers for those who were wounded.
He said Canada was with the people of Tumbler Ridge, a community that relied on each other’s grace.
“Canadians are with you. We will always be with you,” he said.
“When we leave here tonight, some you will go back to quiet houses, some of you will go home to empty rooms. Please know that you’re not alone.”
Earlier in the day, the leaders laid flowers at a growing memorial in Tumbler Ridge for the victims of one of Canada’s worst mass shootings.
Speaking to CBC’s Power and Politics, May told host David Cochrane that the prime minister had invited all the party leaders to travel to Tumbler Ridge in the same plane, a gesture she appreciated.
“There was nothing but shared grieving and shared sense that there’s no other place for us to be but together,” the Saanich-Gulf Islands MP said.
“I think if every Canadian could be here, people would say, ‘Yeah, I’d like to be in Tumbler Ridge and comfort people.’ It’s just so unbearable.”
