Ottawa, Feb 12 (.) Canadian police have identified 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar as the culprit behind the devastating mass shooting in the town of Tumbler Ridge in northern British Columbia, which has left nine people dead, and two people in critical condition, making it one of the deadliest attacks in Canadian history.
As per authorities, the violence began at the suspect’s family home, where her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother were found shot dead.
Investigators believe those killings occurred before Van Rootselaar drove to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon and opened fire on students and staff.
By the time officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived within two minutes of the first emergency call, six more people were dead: one teacher and five students aged between 12 and 13.
Police said the suspect fired at responding officers before being found inside the school with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“This is a deeply distressing incident where nine individuals have senselessly lost their lives,” RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told reporters on Wednesday, revising the death toll down from an initially reported 10. “Our hearts are with the families and this entire community.”
A small town consisting of fewer than 2,500 residents, Tumbler Ridge nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains more than 1,000 km northeast of Vancouver, has been left reeling.
The secondary school, which serves roughly 160 students in grades 7-12, will remain closed for the rest of the week as counselling services are rolled out.
Dennis Campbell, a local resident, told CBC that his daughter was exiting a bathroom when gunfire erupted.
“Dad, there’s a shooting, there’s a shooting here,” he recalled her saying over the phone. She ran to the gymnasium and hid. Campbell said she is now mourning the loss of four friends killed in the attack.
At least two additional victims remain hospitalised with life-threatening injuries, while approximately 25 others were treated for non-life-threatening wounds.
Police recovered two firearms at the school; this included a long gun and a modified handgun, neither of which was registered to Van Rootselaar, as her firearms licence had expired in 2024.
McDonald confirmed that officers had previously responded to the family residence for mental health-related calls, some involving weapons. On at least one occasion, firearms were seized, though the lawful owner later petitioned to have them returned.
The suspect, who had reportedly dropped out of school several years ago, was a gun enthusiast who maintained a social media presence that included posts about guns and hunting, as well as references to personal mental health struggles.
Police confirmed that she was transgender who had transitioned approximately six years ago, stating they identified the suspect “as they chose to be identified publicly.”
Investigators said that the inquiry currently remains in its early stages, with no discernible motive yet confirmed.
Marking the incident as a period of national mourning, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressing the Parliament after observing a minute of silence, called the attack “an act of unheard-of cruelty.”
“What happened has left our nation in shock and all of us in mourning,” Carney said, his voice reportedly breaking at times. “These children and their teachers bore witness to violence no community should ever endure.”
He ordered flags on federal buildings lowered to half-mast for seven days and dispatched Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree to the community.
Carney also cancelled plans to attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
“We will get through this. We will learn from this,” he told reporters earlier.
“But right now, this is a time to come together, to support one another, and to grieve.”
An extremely rare occurrence, mass shootings in Canada, unlike the US, remain comparatively rare, due to enforcement of stricter gun laws than its southern neighbour, including a ban on assault-style firearms and a freeze on handgun sales.
Following the country’s deadliest mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020 which left 22 people dead, Ottawa banned roughly 1,500 models of assault-style weapons.
The Tumbler Ridge attack now ranks as the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history, behind the 1989 massacre at Montreal’s École Polytechnique, where 14 women were killed.
In a statement Tuesday evening, the District of Tumbler Ridge acknowledging the scale of the trauma, said “We recognise that many residents may be feeling shocked, scared and overwhelmed.
“Please check in on one another. Tumbler Ridge is a strong and caring community.”
As investigators piece together the timeline of events and examine digital evidence, Canada is once again grappling with difficult questions about firearm access, mental health, and how such a mass attack could take place in such small and tight-knit-town.
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