Police in tiny towns like Tumbler Ridge are more than law enforcers, says ex-officer

VICTORIA — In tiny towns like Tumbler Ridge, B.C., police are more than law enforcers, says former RCMP officer turned politician Elenore Sturko.

Relationships between community members and RCMP members in such small, rural and remote communities are generally a lot closer than elsewhere, she said.

“You might only have one or two grocery stores, and if there is a theft there, you are probably already on a first-name-basis with the people who are managing it or who own it,” she said.

She said she would not be surprised if the five members of the RCMP detachment in Tumbler Ridge knew some of the victims in Tuesday’s shootings that left nine people dead, including the 18-year-old shooter.

“They could have had children at the school for all we know,” said the Independent B.C. legislator.

Sturko, who worked in Yellowknife and across the Northwest Territories during her career in the RCMP, says frontline officers who work in small, rural and remote communities are more likely to be involved in day-to-day lives of those communities outside of working hours.

“They are more likely to participate in community meetings, or be more engaged themselves at their local school. They might be coaching the local hockey team,” she said.

Sturko said officers who work in smaller communities also work differently. “I found in my experience, we worked a lot closer with community members,” she said.

Sturko said she is “extremely proud” of how quickly local RCMP officers responded to the scene and how they handled themselves.

Dwayne McDonald, deputy commissioner and commanding officer of E-Divison, says officers from the local detachment arrived at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School within two minutes after first receiving reports of an active shooter at around 1:20 p.m. PST.

“Upon arrival, there was active gunfire, and as officers approached the school, rounds were fired in their direction,” he said, adding later officers did not return fire.

“Their response likely prevented further death,” Sturko said. “That is a credit to them and their bravery for going in there.”

Sturko said one of the officers’ primary goals would have been to stop the threat and to draw attention toward them.

“Their duty is and they are trained to quickly locate and try to get the attention of the person, who is shooting and to stop them,” she said.

British Columbia Premier David Eby told a news conference in Vancouver Tuesday evening that the quick arrival of officers at the school prevented what was already “quite a devastating tragedy” from “being significantly worse.”

The premier says he’s “very grateful that officers responded so quickly and so fearlessly.”

Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger says RCMP are “surging” resources into the community of 2,700 in northeastern B.C. and that their government will continue to work with police to make sure they have all the necessary resources to carry out the investigation.

Statistics from the provincial government show that Tumbler Ridge’s RCMP detachment has remained at an authorized strength of five members since 2014 and that officers responded to 114 Criminal Code offences in 2024 for a crime rate of 44 cases per 1,000 residents.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press