Canadian police have identified the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting that left nine people dead in British Columbia, describing one of the darkest days in the country’s recent history.
The attack unfolded on Tuesday afternoon at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, a small institution serving about 160 students in grades seven to 12 in the remote community.
Authorities confirmed that six people were killed inside the school building, including one teacher and five students aged between 12 and 13 years old.
Police later discovered two additional victims at a nearby family home linked to the suspect, bringing the total number of fatalities connected to the tragedy to nine.
The body of the suspected shooter, identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, was found inside the school with what investigators described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald addressed the nation during a sombre briefing, revising the death toll from an initial figure of 10 to nine.
“This is a deeply distressing incident where nine individuals have senselessly lost their lives,” McDonald said, speaking to reporters in British Columbia on Wednesday.
He added that one person initially believed to have died had survived but remained in critical condition in hospital following emergency treatment.
According to investigators, the suspect arrived at the school armed with a long gun and a modified handgun before opening fire on staff and students.
Police units stationed nearby responded within two minutes of the first emergency calls and were reportedly fired upon as they approached the building.
When officers entered the premises, they located victims in a stairwell and inside a classroom, scenes that officials described as chaotic and devastating.
Authorities subsequently attended the suspect’s family residence, where they found the bodies of a 39-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy.
Police said those deaths occurred before the attack at the school, though investigators have not yet disclosed further details about the sequence of events.
McDonald confirmed that officers had responded to the suspect’s home several times in recent years over mental health-related concerns.
Some of those earlier calls reportedly involved firearms, and on at least one occasion weapons were seized from the property.
The lawful owner of the firearms later petitioned to have them returned, according to police, though officials declined to elaborate on the legal process involved.
Addressing questions about how the suspect was described in official alerts, McDonald said police identified the individual as they chose to be publicly known.
He stated that the suspect had been born biologically male but had transitioned and identified socially and publicly as female for approximately six years.
Investigators cautioned that the probe remains in its early stages and that no clear motive has yet been established.
The Tumbler Ridge school shooting has sent shockwaves through Canada, a country where mass shootings are comparatively rare.
Prime Minister Mark Carney described the tragedy as an event that left the nation in shock and mourning.
“What happened has left our nation in shock and all of us in mourning,” Carney said during an emotional address following a minute of silence in parliament.
“These children and their teachers bore witness to unheard-of cruelty. Our entire country stands with you,” he told grieving families and residents.
Carney also cancelled plans to attend the Munich security conference in Germany, opting instead to remain in Canada as the country grapples with the aftermath.
He ordered flags on all federal government buildings to be flown at half-mast for seven days in honour of the victims.
“We will get through this. We will learn from this,” the prime minister said, appearing visibly moved as he addressed reporters earlier in the day.
“But right now, it’s a time to come together, as Canadians always do, to support each other and to mourn together.”
The small town of Tumbler Ridge, home to fewer than 2,500 residents, lies more than 1,000 kilometres north-east of Vancouver by road.
Carney described it as one of British Columbia’s youngest communities, built in the 1980s on the promise of a resource-driven economy.
“It’s a town of miners, teachers, construction workers, families who have built their lives there,” he said in parliament.
Local mayor Darryl Krakowka said the tragedy had devastated the close-knit community, which he described as resembling a “big family”.
“I broke down,” Krakowka said. “I have lived here for 18 years. I probably know every one of the victims.”
British Columbia’s public safety minister, Nina Krieger, praised the speed of the police response, noting that officers arrived within two minutes.
She said the rapid intervention likely prevented further loss of life in what she called an unimaginable tragedy.
At least two other people were hospitalised with serious or life-threatening injuries following the shooting.
Police also reported that as many as 25 individuals were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, including shock and minor physical wounds.
One 12-year-old girl was reported to be fighting for her life in a Vancouver hospital after sustaining gunshot injuries.
A widely shared message attributed to her mother expressed grief for the other families while acknowledging her daughter’s fragile survival.
The district of Tumbler Ridge issued a statement describing the attack as “deeply distressing” and urged residents to support one another.
“We recognise that many residents may be feeling shocked, scared and overwhelmed,” the statement said.
School officials announced that Tumbler Ridge Secondary School would remain closed for the rest of the week.
Counselling services are being made available to students, staff and families in an effort to begin the long recovery process.
“Our priority at this time is taking care of each other and re-establishing a sense of safety in our community,” school authorities said.
Canada has stricter gun laws than the United States, including a ban on assault-style firearms and a national freeze on handgun sales.
Following the country’s deadliest mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020, which left 22 people dead, approximately 1,500 models of assault weapons were banned.
Despite those measures, the Tumbler Ridge school shooting now stands as the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history.
In 1989, a gunman killed 14 students at Montreal’s École Polytechnique in an attack that targeted women.
In 2016, five people were killed in a series of shootings in La Loche, Saskatchewan, another tragedy that deeply affected the nation.
British Columbia premier David Eby described Tuesday’s events as an “unimaginable tragedy” that would reverberate for years.
“As a father of three, it makes you want to hug your kids a little tighter,” Eby said.
He urged Canadians to wrap the affected families with love not only in the immediate aftermath but in the months and years ahead.
As investigators continue piecing together what led to the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, questions remain about warning signs and firearm access.
Authorities have pledged a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack.
For now, the small mountain community is left grieving, grappling with loss and searching for meaning in a tragedy that has shaken Canada to its core.
Read also: World leaders offer condolences after Tumbler Ridge school shooting
About The Author
