Canadians rally around Tumbler Ridge after school shooting

When Jim Caruso heard the news of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, he knew immediately he needed to be there. He packed his bags and boarded a plane for the community 700 miles away. “I wanted to be here to bring some level of comfort,” he said. “I wanted to hug people, pray for them and, most importantly, to cry with them.” On Tuesday, a shooter opened fire in the town’s secondary school, killing eight people, most of them young children.

It was one of the deadliest attacks in Canada’s history and has left the country reeling, while also eliciting a wave of support from across Canada in the form of civic resources, grief and trauma counsellors, therapy animals, food and donations; hotels are fully booked, pushing new arrivals to towns more than an hour’s drive away.

Caruso, who retired four years ago, spent his career as a paramedic, pastor and police chaplain and said that experience made him suited to the moment. “It’s hard but I’m wired for this. I spent my life with first responders.

Canada, Tumbler Ridge

tumbler ridge, school shooting, canada, secondary school, mass shooting, victims, grief counsellors, therapy animals, donations, first responders