Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has attended a vigil in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, where hundreds gathered to mourn the eight victims killed in a mass shooting there this week.

Carney visited the small town on Friday, along with other federal leaders across the political aisle, as well as Canada's Governor-General Mary Simon, in a show of national unity.

"Canadians are with you, we will always be with you," Carney told the crowd in a speech that paid tribute to the victims, which included six young school children.

Residents in the town are still reeling from the attack, with some visibly in tears and comforting one another as Carney and other leaders addressed their grief.

Many refused to speak to the media on Friday, noting that the presence of journalists in their otherwise quiet town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains has been overwhelming.

Carney, who has spent much of his time in office on overseas trade missions, cancelled a planned trip to the Munich Security Conference earlier this week in light of the shooting.

The prime minister invited the other federal leaders to travel on the same plane with him to Tumbler Ridge, said Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre.

"We all lead political parties. But today? There are no Conservatives. There are no Liberals, New Democrats, Greens or Bloc Québécois," Poilievre said in his own remarks at Friday's vigil.

Ahead of the vigil, Carney and other leaders met with families of the victims and first responders. They also laid flowers at a memorial, which has grown over the week, near Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

Attendees of the vigil included families of the victims and local residents, as well as people who drove in from nearby small communities in northern British Columbia to pay their respects.

"I never thought that it would happen here," said Colaina Hall, who drove two hours south from Fort St John to attend the vigil. "In our little northern communities, we're pretty tight-knit, we take care of one another."

"It is just devastating," she said.

Police have named the suspect in the shooting as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who also lived in the community. Van Rootselaar was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the school, police said.

In an update to reporters on Friday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they did not believe the suspect was targeting anyone specific in the attack.

"This suspect was, for a lack of a better term, hunting," said RCMP deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald. "They were prepared and engaging anybody and everybody they could come in contact with."

Police added that they had seized a total of four firearms in relation to the shooting — two from the suspect's home and two from the school.

Authorities earlier said they did not know how the suspect procured the weapons used in the shooting.

Police said earlier that Van Rootselaar had a firearm license that expired in 2024.

While Van Rootselaar's mother, Jennifer Jacobs, who was also known as Jennifer Strang, had a licence to buy and possess guns, there were no firearms registered under that licence, McDonald said.

He added that by law there were "certain types of firearms" that did not have to be registered.

A 2021 Facebook post from Strang, 39, described how the teenager was interested in guns, BBC Verify found.

One post shared in 2021 by a relative shows the suspect holding a hunting rifle.

Deputy commissioner McDonald said police were still working to determine how Van Rootselaar was able to obtain the guns used in the attack, particularly the firearm "believed to be the one that caused the most significant damage" at the school.

McDonald would not give information about what style the primary gun from the school was, saying "because of its unknown origin, we don't know if there's other parties in terms of procuring that weapon".

Earlier in the week, police said Van Rootselaar, who was born biologically male and transitioned to female six years ago, had a history of mental health struggles and was previously admitted for psychiatric evaluation.

Guns were seized from the suspect's home in the past, police had said, but were returned after a successful petition from the firearms' owner.

Neither guns used in the attack at the home or the school were previously seized by police, deputy commissioner McDonald clarified on Friday.

Police also released an image of the suspect, noting that misinformation had been circulating on social media about the attack and the suspect's identity.

The school remained closed on Friday as the RCMP continued their investigation, though McDonald said he hoped that their work would be concluded soon, "recognising that the town needs to heal".

What we know about the victims

A total of nine people, including the suspected shooter, died in the shootings. That includes five children and one adult educator at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, as well as two of the suspected shooter's family members at a local residence.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that those killed at the school include: 12-year-old Kylie Smith, 12-year-old Abel Mwansa, 12-year-old Zoey Benoit, 12-year-old Ticaria Lampert, 13-year-old Ezekiel Schofield, and 39-year-old teacher Shannda Aviugana-Durand.

Benoit's family remembered her as "resilient, vibrant, smart, caring and the strongest little girl you could meet", according to a statement shared by the police.

"She brought so much laughter and smiles in her presence," Benoit's family continued in the statement. "She loved spending time with her family where she could show her love. Our family is devastated by this loss, but we will cherish her memories with us so close to our hearts forever."

Ticaria Lampert was just two months away from her 13th birthday, her mother Sarah Lampert said during a news conference on Thursday.

"I called her my tiki torch," Lampert said. "She's always been a blasing light in the darkness and if you didn't manage to see her, you would definitely hear her."

The suspected shooter's mother, 39-year-old Jennifer Jacobs, who was also known as Jennifer Strang, and stepbrother, 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs were also killed, police confirmed.