An individual believed to be responsible for the killing in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, was found deceased with what appears to be a self‑inflicted injury, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

Twenty-seven people were injured, including two with serious injuries and 25 with non life-threatening injuries, the RCMP said in a statement.

Police said an alert was issued about an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities searched the school and initially found six people, not including the suspect, who had been shot dead.

A seventh person who was shot at the school died while being transported to the hospital.

Police “identified a secondary location believed to be connected to the incident, where two additional victims were located deceased in a residence,” the statement said.

Canadian media has reported that the shooter was female, but the RCMP statement did not include any details about the suspect.

“This was a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation, and the swift cooperation from the school, first responders, and the community played a critical role in our response,” the RCMP’s northern district commander Ken Floyd said in a statement.

“This has been an incredibly difficult and emotional day for our community,” he added.

Tumbler Ridge is more than 1,100km north of Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city.