Panama Expresses Condolences to Canada After School Shooting that Left Nine Dead

Panama expressed its condolences to the people and Government of Canada for the shooting that occurred at a high school in Tumbler Ridge, in the province of British Columbia, which left nine people dead, including the alleged 18-year-old attacker.

In an official statement, the Panamanian Foreign Ministry described the event as a “tragic incident” that has brought grief to numerous families.

“We reaffirm our feelings of friendship and support for the Canadian people, with the hope that they find strength and comfort in the face of this regrettable tragedy,” the Government of Panama stated.

The Executive also expressed its solidarity with the families of the victims and with the entire community affected by the armed attack.

What happened at Tumbler Ridge?

Canadian police identified 18-year-old Jesse Vanrootselaar as the suspected perpetrator of the shooting that took place Tuesday at a high school in this remote town of approximately 2,400 inhabitants, located in the interior of British Columbia, in western Canada.

Among the fatalities are five students from the educational center:

Three 12-year-old girls

A 12-year-old boy

A 13-year-old teenager

A 39-year-old teacher also died.

In addition, authorities confirmed that two other victims located in a home in the community were the attacker’s mother and stepbrother, the latter being 11 years old.

The shooting at Tumbler Ridge school also left 27 people injured, two of them in critical condition.

Police indicated that in some cases the injuries were not caused directly by the gunfire, but rather in the chaos generated during the attack.

The Tumbler Ridge tragedy is the second deadliest recorded at a Canadian school since the 1989 massacre at Montreal Polytechnic School, where a gunman killed 14 women.

The new incident reopens the debate in Canada about school safety and access to firearms, in a country where these types of events are less frequent than in other nations, but generate a profound social impact.