A school shooting in Canada Friday has rocked the nation. In comparison to the U.S., school shootings, or any shootings for that matter, are less heard of in Canada. As Clearwater River Dene Nation Chief Teddy Clark said about the shooting that left 5 dead and 2 injured: "This is something that you only see on TV most of the time," he told The Star Phoenix. Clark described the shooting as "shocking" to the community.
The shooting happened at Saskatchewan's La Loche Community School of approximately 900 students. The school, made up of two buildings, teaches from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.
In a statement Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the fatalities and injuries, while adding that the suspected shooter was in custody. "Obviously this is every parent's worst nightmare," said Trudeau.
The school alerted people to an emergency situation, not going into detail, posting the following message on its Facebook page:
La Loche student Noel Desjarlais from the Dene building (where the upper grades are housed) told CBC News, "I ran outside the school." The 10th grader continued, "There was lots of screaming. There was about six, seven shots before I got outside. I believe there was more shots by the time I did get out."
