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« on: February 11, 2026, 05:05:25 PM »
"What we learned from the police briefing on the Tumbler Ridge shootings
Deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald confirmed that police have identified the suspect as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who was a resident of Tumbler Ridge.
Police revised the death toll down to nine people, including the suspect, after a female victim with significant injuries survived (she remains in critical condition).
A 39-year-old found deceased at the suspect’s family residence was the mother of the suspect, and the 11-year-old victim was the suspect’s step-brother.
The deaths at the private residence occurred first before the suspect went to the high school.
Police were called to the home after they had been called to the school, by a female youth who is related to the suspect and victims.
Those killed at the school were a 39-year-old teacher, three 12-year-old female students and two male students aged 12 and 13. One victim was found in the stairwell, and the others were located in the school’s library.
Two firearms were recovered at the scene – a long gun and a modified handgun. Police are still working to determine their origins and role in the incident.
The suspect had a firearms license that had expired in 2024 and did not currently have any firearms registered to her.
The suspect had dropped out of Tumbler Ridge secondary school about four years ago and was not currently a student there.
There is no information at this point to suggest that any of the victims in the school were specifically targeted.
Police had attended the suspect’s family residence on multiple occasions over the past several years, dealing with mental health concerns of the suspect.
This included one police attendance to the home approximately two years ago where firearms were seized under the criminal code. The lawful owner of those firearms petitioned for them to be returned, and they were.
The suspect was born as a biological male who had started transitioning about six years ago and identified in public and on social media as female.
The suspect is believed to have acted alone.
Police don’t yet have an idea as to what the suspect’s motive was."