In a tragic incident at Tumbler Ridge, located in the breathtaking Canadian Rockies over 1,000 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, at least nine individuals lost their lives and an additional 25 were injured. This devastating event has left the community in shock as details continue to emerge.

Authorities identified Jesse Van Rootselaar as the suspect responsible for the attack. Van Rootselaar was later found deceased, having inflicted a fatal injury upon himself, according to official reports.

This incident comes amid Canada’s ongoing efforts to tighten gun control laws, a response to the horrific shooting spree that occurred in Nova Scotia in 2020, claiming 22 innocent lives. The government, led by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, took decisive action by initiating a ban on over 2,500 models and makes of assault-style firearms.

The list of banned firearms includes the notorious AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, frequently used in mass shootings across the United States. Canadian gun owners affected by this legislation have been given until March 31 to surrender their weapons in exchange for compensation. However, once this deadline passes, compensation will no longer be available, although returning the firearms will remain mandatory.

They included the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle wielded by gunmen during mass shootings in the United States.

Impacted Canadian gun owners have until March 31 to hand in their weapons and receive compensation. After that deadline, they won’t be compensated – but they’ll still have to return their firearms.

”Canada actually has a fairly high rate of civilian gun ownership compared to other advanced democracies,” Blake Brown, a professor at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia and expert on Canadian gun control, told CNN.

The country has around 37.4 civilian firearms per 100 people, compared to 14.5 in Australia, according to a 2017 release from the Small Arms Survey.

Brown also says some gun owners have proven reluctant to participate in the government buyback scheme.

Part of the reason is lobbying by Canada’s small but vocal gun lobby and opposition from the country’s centre-right Conservative Party.

“I think many people might assume that Canada’s a place without many guns or really strong gun laws,” Brown said.

“And in fact, there are a fair number of guns and the gun laws – although they’re good in some ways – there’s still weaknesses that get exploited.”

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