Canadian authorities have identified the person behind Tuesday’s deadly school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar.
Investigators said Van Rootselaar acted alone in carrying out the attack in the remote northern town of roughly 2,400 residents. The violence left nine people dead, including the gunwoman, who died by suicide. Officials had initially reported ten fatalities before revising the number downward.
Deputy Commissioner Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Dwayne McDonald said police had previously encountered Van Rootselaar during multiple interventions under British Columbia’s Mental Health Act. Officers had responded to the family home on several occasions in recent years due to concerns related to her mental health, he told reporters.
Van Rootselaar had once attended the school but withdrew approximately four years ago. Authorities said the attack began at her residence, where her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old stepbrother were fatally shot. She then went to the school, where a 39-year-old teacher and six students were killed — three girls, age 12, and three boys, ages 12 and 13. Two additional people remain hospitalized in critical condition.
Police recovered both a long gun and a modified handgun at the scene. McDonald confirmed that while investigators believe the suspect operated independently, they are not yet prepared to discuss a motive. At this stage, law enforcement has found no indication that specific individuals were deliberately targeted.
The tragedy has shaken a country where school shootings are rare and mass casualty events infrequent compared to the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the nation visibly emotional, pledging that Canada would “learn from this” in the days ahead. He cancelled a planned trip to Europe and ordered flags on federal buildings lowered to half-staff for a week. During a moment of silence in Parliament, Carney described Tumbler Ridge as a close-knit community of working families who “have always shown up for each other.”
International condolences followed. King Charles III, Canada’s head of state, said he was profoundly shocked and saddened by the news.
Details about firearms ownership have also drawn scrutiny. McDonald disclosed that police had seized guns from the residence about two years ago, though they were later returned after a successful appeal by the registered owner, whose identity was not released. Van Rootselaar possessed a firearms license that expired in 2024. Under Canadian law, minors between 12 and 17 can obtain a firearms permit if they complete mandated safety training and testing.
The shooting ranks among the most devastating acts of mass violence in Canadian history. In April 2020, a gunman posing as a police officer killed 22 people in Nova Scotia. In 1989, a shooter at Montreal’s École Polytechnique murdered 14 women before taking his own life — an event that remains etched into the country’s collective memory.
Local legislator Larry Neufeld described the scale of grief confronting Tumbler Ridge as overwhelming, saying the community now faces a long and difficult path toward healing.
