Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass shooting
Crews started tearing down the northern British Columbia school six months after nine people were killed there.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass shooting
Photograph: CTV News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Demolition of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School started on 17 August 2026, six months after a mass shooting killed nine people.
- The school district will remove the building in stages, with waste transported to regional landfills outside the community.
- A $200 million pledge from federal and provincial governments will fund a new school and upgrades to the community health centre.
- No right-rated outlet carried the story, according to the reports printed below.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 23 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
15/100
23 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 23 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Demolition crews began tearing down Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northern British Columbia on 17 August 2026. The school was the site of a mass shooting on 10 February 2026 that killed nine people, including five children and one education assistant. The 18-year-old shooter, who also died at the scene, had killed two family members at home before the attack.
School District 59 superintendent Christy Fennell said the demolition would be staged over several weeks. The exterior of the building was being removed first, with waste taken to landfills outside Tumbler Ridge. Fennell said the site would be restored to grass once the structure was fully removed. Temporary portable classrooms have been set up at the local elementary school since the shooting.
In May 2026, British Columbia Premier David Eby announced plans to build a replacement school as quickly as possible. The federal and provincial governments pledged a combined $200 million Canadian for the new school and upgrades to the community health centre. Consultations on the design of the new school are scheduled to begin in autumn 2026.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet carried the story, according to the reports printed below. None of the digests, whether left or centre-rated, mentioned the shooter’s age or the two additional deaths at the family home. The full reports from CBC News and CTV News were the only ones to include those details.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 18 Aug 2026, 04:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
13 rated outlets
- The two left-rated full reports, from CBC News and CTV News, led on the emotional significance of the demolition for the community. CBC News quoted Fennell’s statement that seeing the building change would be significant for students, families and staff. It also noted that consultations on the new school’s design would begin in the fall, and that temporary facilities included counselling spaces.
- CBC News reported that about 160 students attended the school before the shooting. It described the demolition as a milestone in the careful, staged removal of the building. The report included details about the shooter’s actions before arriving at the school, including the killing of two family members at home.
- The left-rated digests carried the basic facts: the start of demolition, the February shooting, and the $200 million pledge. None of the left-rated digests mentioned the shooter’s age or the two additional deaths at the family home.
Centre
10 rated outlets
- The centre-rated full report from CTV News led on the practical details of the demolition. It quoted Fennell’s statement that the work would be carried out in phases to minimise disruption and protect privacy. The report specified that the Tumbler Ridge landfill would not be used for waste disposal.
- CTV News also reported that Premier Eby had announced the replacement school would be built as quickly as possible, though a location had not yet been chosen. It included the total death toll of nine, noting the two additional victims at the shooter’s home.
- The centre-rated digests focused on the visual aspect of the demolition. Several described photos posted to social media showing excavators tearing down the building’s exterior. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the shooter’s age or the two additional deaths at the family home.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
23 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
13- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens StratfordToday.ca in a new tab)
StratfordToday.ca — is StratfordToday.ca biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Bowen Island Undercurrent in a new tab)
Bowen Island Undercurrent — is Bowen Island Undercurrent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens burlingtontoday.com in a new tab)
burlingtontoday.com — is burlingtontoday.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Bay Today in a new tab)
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Sudbury in a new tab)
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Elora Fergus Today in a new tab)
Elora Fergus Today — is Elora Fergus Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Orillia Matters in a new tab)
Orillia Matters — is Orillia Matters biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens SooToday.com in a new tab)
SooToday.com — is SooToday.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 5 more
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens The Record in a new tab)
The Record — is The Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School is now underway (opens Global News in a new tab)
Global News — is Global News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Tumbler Ridge Tragedy School Demolition (opens Radio-Canada in a new tab)
Radio-Canada — is Radio-Canada biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition begins on Tumbler Ridge school months after mass shooting (opens CBC News in a new tab)
Centre
10- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Energetic City in a new tab)
Energetic City — is Energetic City biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Castanet in a new tab)
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Narcity in a new tab)
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Ckpg Today in a new tab)
Ckpg Today — is Ckpg Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Medicine Hat News in a new tab)
Medicine Hat News — is Medicine Hat News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens meadowlakeNOW in a new tab)
meadowlakeNOW — is meadowlakeNOW biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Battlefords NOW in a new tab)
Battlefords NOW — is Battlefords NOW biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens City News in a new tab)
Show 2 more
- Demolition underway at Tumbler Ridge school, site of B.C. mass shooting (opens Winnipeg Free Press in a new tab)
Winnipeg Free Press — is Winnipeg Free Press biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Demolition of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, site of B.C. mass shooting, begins (opens CTV News in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass…?
- Of the 23 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 56% are rated left, 44% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass… left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 23 rated outlets on this story, 56% are rated left, 44% are rated centre, 0% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass… biased?
- Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass shooting is one event reported by 23 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Demolition begins at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after February mass…?
- 23 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many people died in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting?
- Nine people died in the 10 February 2026 shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. The victims included five children, one education assistant, and the 18-year-old shooter. Two additional family members were killed at the shooter’s home before the attack.
- What will happen to the Tumbler Ridge school site after demolition?
- After the demolition is complete, the site of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School will be restored to grass. School District 59 superintendent Christy Fennell said the work would continue through the fall of 2026 to complete the restoration.
- How much money has been pledged for the new school?
- The federal and provincial governments have pledged a combined $200 million Canadian for the construction of a new school in Tumbler Ridge and upgrades to the community health centre. The replacement school is expected to be built as quickly as possible.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.



