TUMBLER RIDGE — Police in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., say the destruction of 20 seized firearms was not related to the February mass shooting in the community, after the discovery of the parts by local residents triggered rumours they were somehow linked to the case.

RCMP in the northeast B.C. community say the weapons were seized during previous investigations between 2016 and 2024 and destroyed during “routine operations.”

Police say there is “no connection whatsoever” between the weapons and the Feb. 10 mass shooting in which eight victims were killed.

They say that the weapons involved in the shooting at a residence and Tumbler Ridge Secondary School are being held by major crime investigators.

Police are asking anyone with concerns about the destroyed guns or the handling of the weapons involved in the shooting to contact authorities directly.

The remains of the weapons that were found by residents are “no longer legally classified as firearms,” RCMP say, having been rendered inoperable.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.