In a tragic development from British Columbia, authorities have identified the perpetrator of a fatal school shooting as an 18-year-old woman named Jesse Van Rootselaar. The attack, which claimed eight lives, occurred in a remote part of the province, and the suspect was subsequently found dead, police reported on Wednesday.
Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police revealed that Van Rootselaar had a history involving mental health interventions by law enforcement. Tragically, her mother and stepbrother were among the deceased, found in a residence close to the school where the incident unfolded.
The motive behind the attack remains a mystery, as investigations continue to uncover any potential reasons for the violence.
Initial reports from police suggested nine fatalities occurred during Tuesday’s attack. However, McDonald later clarified that the death toll stands at eight victims, apart from the shooter, who authorities say died by suicide. The confusion arose from a misreport of a victim’s status who was airlifted to a hospital but survived the ordeal.
In addition to the fatalities, the attack left over 25 individuals injured in Tumbler Ridge, a small mountain community.
Town is near border with Alberta
Tumbler Ridge, home to approximately 2,700 residents, is nestled in the Canadian Rockies, situated over 1,000 kilometers (about 600 miles) northeast of Vancouver, near the Alberta border.
Police said the victims included a 39-year-old teacher and five students, ages 12 to 13.
McDonald said the suspect’s mother, who was also 39, and an 11-year-old stepbrother, were found at the suspect’s home.
The killings at the home occurred first, he said. A young family member at the home went to a neighbor, who called police.
At the school, one victim was found in a stairwell and the rest, McDonald believed, were found in the library. The suspect was not related to any of the victims at the school, he said.
“There is no information at this point that anyone was specifically targeted,” McDonald said.
Police recovered a long gun and a modified handgun. McDonald said officers arrived at the school two minutes after the initial call. When they arrived, shots were fired in their direction.
“Parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you, and Canada stands by you,” an emotional Prime Minister Mark Carney said as he arrived in Parliament.
Deadliest rampage since 2020
The attack was Canada’s deadliest rampage since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left another nine dead.
Carney said flags at government buildings will be flown at half-staff for seven days and added: “We will get through this.”
Shelley Quist said her neighbor across the street lost her 12-year-old. “We heard his mom. She was in the street crying. She wanted her son’s body,” Quist said.
Quist said her 17-year-old son, Darian, was on lockdown in the school for more than two hours. The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students in grades 7 to 12.
“The grade sevens and eights, I think, were upstairs in the library, and that’s where the shooter went,” she said. Her son was in the library just 15 minutes prior to the attack.
Quist was working at the hospital down the street when the shooting started.
“I was about to go run down to the school, but my coworker held me back. And then I was able to get Darian on the phone to know he was OK,” she said.
Darian Quist said he knew the attack was real when the principal came down the halls and ordered doors to be closed. He said fellow students texted him pictures of blood while he remained locked down in a classroom.
“We used the desk to block the doors,” he said.
School shootings are rare in Canada, which has strict gun-control laws. The government has responded to previous mass shootings with gun-control measures, including a recently broadened ban on all guns it considers assault weapons.
A video showed students walking out with their hands raised as police vehicles surrounded the building and a helicopter circled overhead.
Village is a ‘big family’
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka said it was “devastating” to learn how many had died in the community, which he called a “big family.”
“I broke down,” Krakowka said. “I have lived here for 18 years. I probably know every one of the victims.”
The Rev. George Rowe of the Tumbler Ridge Fellowship Baptist Church went to the recreation center where victims’ families were awaiting more information.
“It was not a pretty sight. Families are still waiting to hear if it’s their child that’s deceased and because of protocol and procedure, the investigating team is very careful in releasing names,” Rowe said Tuesday.
Rowe once taught at the high school, and his three children graduated from there.
“To walk through the corridors of that school will never be the same again,” he said.
The school district said the high school and elementary school will be closed for the rest of the week.
Carney’s office said he called off a planned trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Munich, Germany. He had been set to announce a long-awaited defense industrial strategy Wednesday in Halifax before heading to Europe for the Munich Security Conference.
British Columbia Premier David Eby on Tuesday said he had spoken to the prime minister about the “unimaginable tragedy.”
“I know it’s causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight,” he said. “I’m asking the people of British Columbia to look after the people of Tumbler Ridge tonight.”
Gillies reported from Toronto.
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