A disturbing image has surfaced showing the 18-year-old gunman, identified as transgender, who killed his mother and brother before executing a deadly assault at a Canadian school. This tragic event is now recognized as the second most lethal school shooting in the nation’s history.

On Tuesday afternoon, Jesse Van Rootselaar opened fire inside the library of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, leaving a devastating impact in his wake.

The attack claimed the lives of a female teacher, along with three girls and two boys, all between the ages of 13 and 17.

Following the rampage, Van Rootselaar ended his own life on school grounds. Prior to the school shooting, he had fatally shot his mother, Jennifer, and brother, Emmett, at their residence, as reported by CTV News.

In a series of photographs, Van Rootselaar is seen in various settings, from a somber birthday gathering and a family meal to another unsettling image where he is smiling and holding a rifle.

Authorities, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, identified Van Rootselaar on Wednesday. He was known to use his mother’s surname, Strang, socially and in school, and was described as female by officials.

The RCMP explained that Jesse began identifying as female six years ago, aged 12, and said there had been multiple call-outs to his home related to his mental health over the years.

Van Rootselaar, who stopped attending school four years ago at the age of 14, even had to be ‘apprehended for assessment’ under the country’s mental health act at one point.

Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, was pictured happily gripping a rifle 

The teenager opened fire in the library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon

The 18 year old murdered his mother and brother before killing eight people in the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history

‘Police have attended that residence in the past, approximately a couple of years ago, where firearms were seized under the Criminal Code,’ said Dwayne McDonald, Deputy Commissioner of British Columbia RCMP.

‘I can say that at a later point in time, the lawful owner of those firearms petitioned for those firearms to be returned, and they were.’ 

Jennifer did not have a valid license for firearms at the time of her death. 

Sources told the Daily Mail that Van Rootselaar lived at the home with three relatives. 

Those who knew Van Rootselaar said the gunman was a ‘quiet kid’ who was often seen ‘sitting by himself in the corner’.

Liam Irving said Van Rootselaar’s mother and younger brother were well known in the Tumbler Ridge community and were ‘good friends’ of his family.

‘There’s not one person in this town right now that’s not affected by this,’ he told the Western Standard. 

A parent whose son attends the school also said his child knew the alleged shooter and played sports with Van Rootselaar’s sister. 

His son was at the academic institution on Tuesday when Van Rootselaar carried out the deadly massacre. He is now ‘afraid to go back to school’, his father added.

Children were led out of the school after the shooting as authorities attended the scene

A total of 25 people were injured in the massacre on Tuesday. 

Maya Gebala, 12, was shot in the neck and head and is not expected to survive the night. She is the only injured victim named so far. 

The girl’s family has said she was hit by shrapnel during the shooting but it was unknown how she was hit and how much damage was done. 

‘We were warned that the damage to her brain was too much for her to endure, and she wouldn’t make the night,’ Maya’s mother Cia Edmonds said on Wednesday afternoon.

‘I can feel her in my heart. I can feel her saying its going to be OK… she’s here… for how long we don’t know.

‘Our baby needs a miracle.’

Edmonds said she also grieved for the six families whose children were killed at the school, and those trying to come to terms with the shooting.

‘It was just a normal day. Our community is shattered,’ she said.

‘My heart bleeds for everyone who is trying to process this horrific string of events. Far too many are grieving already.’

Maya Gebala was one of 25 people injured in the shooting. She was shot in the head and neck and is receiving urgent medical treatment at a hospital in Vancouver 

Maya’s mother Cia Edmonds shared this photo from hospital as she prayed for a miracle after doctors told her the little girl wouldn’t last the night

An emergency alert was issued to Tumbler Ridge residents around 1.20pm local time Tuesday, warning of an active shooter in the area.

An urgent lockdown alarm sounded in the hallways shortly after 1.30pm, instructing students and staff to barricade the doors.

Darian Quist, a senior at the school, told CBC he was in his mechanics class when the lockdown began.

‘For a while, I didn’t think anything was going on,’ he said. ‘I thought it was just like maybe a “Secure and hold” but once everything starts circulating, we kind of realized something was wrong.’

Quist said he and his classmates were then left to hide in fear for their lives for over two hours, which was only broken when cops eventually escorted them out of the classroom. 

He described the atmosphere in the classroom ‘very nervous’, which was made worse when he saw gruesome evidence of the carnage at his school sent to his cell phone.

‘Once people sent me some photos, it definitely set in what was actually happening,’ the student said. 

‘They [the photos] were disturbing, just showing blood and things like that. That’s when it all really set in.’ 

The student said their teacher quickly organized students by making them move tables against doors and create an escape plan. 

He said they then waited anxiously until ‘police came through the door, yelling, ‘Hands up, hands up.”

Students outside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after Van Rootselaar opened fire

The secondary school, which enrolls 175 students, and its elementary school, will be closed for the rest of the week.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a social media post that he was devastated by the shooting.

‘I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens,’ he wrote.

Carney’s office said he is suspending a planned trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Munich, Germany. He was set to announce a long-awaited defense industrial strategy in Halifax on Wednesday before heading to Europe for the Munich Security Conference.

David Eby, the province’s premier, told reporters he had spoken to Carney after what he called 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.’