FLAGS ACROSS CANADA AT HALF-MAST AS COUNTRY MOURNS DEADLY SCHOOL SHOOTING

HAMILTON (Canada), Feb 12 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered all flags on government buildings across the country to be flown at half-mast on Wednesday after a deadly school shooting in the town of Tumbler Ridge in the western province of British Columbia, reported Anadolu Ajansi.

"Following yesterday's tragic shootings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., I have asked that Canada’s flag atop the Peace Tower, and across all government buildings, be flown at half-mast for the next seven days as our nation mourns with the community," Carney wrote on X.

He delivered visibly emotional remarks in Ottawa and told the families of the victims, "the nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you."

Carney said many world leaders, including King Charles III as well as those from Britain, France, India, Finland, Norway and Australia, have called to convey their condolences.

According to a note from the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday, Carney "suspended" his upcoming visit to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also expressed sorrow for the deadly shooting, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a news conference.

"I can tell you that the secretary general was saddened to learn of the tragic shooting that took place in Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia, Canada," Dujarric said, adding that Guterres "extends his deepest condolences to those affected and his sympathies to the government and people of Canada."

The attack is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history, after a December 1989 shooting at Ecole Polytechnic in Montreal that left 14 dead.

Tumbler Ridge, a town of about 2,400 people in western Canada, is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 680 kilometres from the US border.

Investigation is ongoing.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU