A mass shooting in a remote Canadian town on Tuesday left 10 people, including the suspected attacker, dead, shocking a country where such acts of violence are extremely rare.

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said he was “devastated” by the attack, which took place in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. “My prayers and deepest condolences are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones to these horrific acts of violence,” he said in a social media post. Carney postponed plans to travel to the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which begins on Friday.

Seven people, including the suspected shooter, who appeared to have died from a self-inflicted injury, were found dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Another person died while being transported from the school to the hospital.

Two more people were found dead at a residence in the town in a shooting that police believe was connected to the attack at the school.

A further 25 people were injured, the police added.

Students and teachers hid for hours inside the school during the attack.

The police have not disclosed the identity of the suspected shooter, details about the firearms that were used or how they might have been obtained.

Superintendent Ken Floyd of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a news briefing that the person believed to be behind the attack, who was found at the school, was the same person mentioned in a stay-in-place police alert that was issued at about 1.20pm (local time) on Tuesday. The alert described the person as a “female in a dress with brown hair”.

The police have not identified the names or ages of those who were killed, citing privacy and the need to notify their families.

The stay-in-place alert was lifted at 5.45pm (local time).

New York Times News Service