A shooting at a high school in the Canadian province of British Columbia left seven dead, including the suspect, authorities said on Wednesday.

The death toll revised down from eight on Wednesday after police learned that one victim who was initially believed to have been killed was in fact alive with serious injuries. 

"As part of the initial response to the active shooting, police entered the school to locate the threat. During the search, officers located multiple victims. An individual believed to be the shooter was also found deceased with what appears to be a self‑inflicted injury," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.

Two more people — the shooter's mother and stepbrother — were found dead at a nearby home in what is believed to be a connected incident, authorities added.

Police identified the shooter as an 18-year-old who had dropped out of the school four years ago.

"We have a history of police attendance at the family residence. Some of those calls ​are related to mental health issues," Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald ​told a press conference on Wednesday.

Carney mourns victims of 'unheard-of cruelty'

The incident has rocked Canada, where school shootings remain rare compared to the United States.

"These children and their teachers bore witness to unheard-of cruelty. I want everyone to know this: our entire country stands with you, on behalf of all Canadians," Prime Minister Mark Carney told parliament on Wednesday.

"What happened has left our nation in shock and all of us in mourning."

He added: "We will get through this. We will learn from this. But right now, it's a time to come together, as Canadians always do."

Six fatally shot at high school, two more dead at home

Six people, not including the suspect, were found at the school, the RCMP said. A seventh victim died while being transported to a hospital. 

More than 25 people were injured in the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. This included two people with serious or life-threatening injuries, who have been airlifted to a hospital.

Police said all remaining students and staff were safely evacuated and they did not ​believe there were any more suspects or ongoing threats to the public.

They received the report of the active shooting around 1:20 p.m. (20:20 UTC/GMT) local time on Tuesday, February 10.

British Columbia Premier David Eby told reporters that police reached the school within two minutes of receiving notification.

Carney cancels overseas engagement

On Tuesday, Carney issued a statement of support for the affected families, saying he was "devastated by today’s horrific shootings in Tumbler Ridge."

His office said he was suspending a planned trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was to announce a new defense industrial strategy, and to Munich, Germany, where he was to attend the Munich Security Conference.  

Larry Neufeld, the member of the legislature for Peace River South, told reporters at the legislature that an "excess" of resources, including RCMP and ambulance support, had been sent to the community.

Tumbler Ridge 'a big family'

Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the whole community was grieving, calling it a "big family." 

He said he had lived there for 18 years and probably knew every one of the victims.

DW also spoke with Trent Ernst, a journalist with the Tumbler RidgeLines newspaper, who said the number of 10 dead was "a pretty large number" in view of the just 150-160 children at the school.  

According to Ernst, incidents like school shootings were "not even considered a possibility in a place like Tumbler Ridge."

"If there's a kid in the classroom, you know, flipping his knife back and forth, he gets sent to the principal's office. It feels so 1960s, 70s compared to when you look at what happens, you know, in larger communities down in the States," he said.

Ernst said, however, that now, the general feeling that Tumbler Ridge was a "very safe place" had been destroyed.

"That sense has been broken," he said.

Britain's King Charles, who is also Canada's head of state, echoed these sentiments in a statement with Queen Camilla.

"In such a closely connected town, every child's name will be known and every family will be a neighbor," he said, adding that they were "profoundly shocked and saddened" by the shooting.

Tumbler Ridge is a remote Canadian town

Tumbler Ridge is a remote municipality with a population of around 2,400 people. It is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) north of Vancouver, near the border with Alberta.

School shootings are rare in Canada. The shooting at Tumbler Ridge is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history, according to Canadian national broadcaster CBC. 

Edited by: Sean Sinico and Roshni Majumdar