An RCMP vehicle is parked outside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in B.C. on Feb. 13, days after one of Canada's worst mass shootings.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The Tumbler Ridge, B.C., high school where six people were killed in one of Canada’s worst mass shootings will be torn down and replaced with a new school at another site.
B.C. Premier David Eby said the decision is the result of engagement between the Peace River South school board and survivors, family and community members.
“The work that was done by the school board was incredibly important because we want to make sure we’re doing things right by the survivors, by the families, by the people of Tumbler Ridge,” he told reporters in Victoria on Thursday.
Nine people, including the shooter, died in the Feb. 10 mass shooting. The 18-year-old fatally shot her mother and half brother at their family home before proceeding to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she killed five students and an educational assistant. The shooter then turned a gun on herself.
Eby says a new high school will be built at another site 'as quickly as possible.'
The Canadian Press
Mr. Eby, who travelled with other dignitaries to the northeastern B.C. community of roughly 2,400 people in the days after the attack, said it was apparent to him at the time the high level of anxiety that children were experiencing over the idea of returning to the school. He pledged then that they would not have to.
“I will promise you that not one of you will ever be forced to go back to that school,” he said at a Feb. 13 vigil. “We will provide a safe place for you to go to school.”
Within days, single-wide trailers were brought to Tumbler Ridge to establish temporary school facilities. Some students resumed classes by the end of the month.
Tumbler Ridge shooting highlights rural northern B.C.’s mental health deserts
Those portables will now be replaced with larger double-wide trailers that can accommodate 25 to 30 students each, until the new building is ready.
The removal of the existing school is expected to begin this summer, Mr. Eby said. Community consultations and expert advice will guide decisions on the new location and school design, with a plan expected later this year.
The Premier said Ottawa will help fund both the removal of the existing school and the development and construction of the new building.
“When the Prime Minister was in Tumbler Ridge with me and with the mayor, he committed that the federal government would be part of this effort as well, and they have confirmed that they will also be working with us to replace this school,” Mr. Eby said on Thursday.
B.C. Premier David Eby speaks during a community vigil on Feb. 13 at a makeshift memorial at the town hall in Tumbler Ridge.Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters
Several students and family members who spoke with The Globe and Mail in the wake of the attack said they never wanted to return to the school. But not all.
Maddy Mansky, 12, who hid in the bathroom as shots rang out, said she wanted the school to stay, and that people should overcome their fears. Her mother, Alysha Mansky, said demolishing the school sends the wrong message.
“They’re teaching them it’s okay to walk away and it’ll be taken care of, because they’re afraid,” Ms. Mansky said in an interview on Thursday.
“What do you teach your kids when they’re being bullied at school? Stand up for yourself. Stand up and take your power back.”
B.C.’s chief coroner, Jatinder Baidwan, announced in March that his office will hold an inquest into the shooting after the investigative phase is complete.
Mr. Eby reiterated Thursday that should the police investigation and coroner’s inquest not answer outstanding questions – such as the origins of the guns used, the potential role of OpenAI and its ChatGPT chatbot, and the state of mental-health services in Tumbler Ridge – then his government would move to a public inquiry.