Canadian police say eight people have been killed in a mass shooting at a school and home in the isolated rural community of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia’s western province.
Six people were killed and at least 25 others were injured at Tumbler Ridge High School. The suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, was found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Two other people – the suspect’s mother, 39, and his half-brother, 11 – were also found dead in a nearby house.
This is what we know so far about one of the deadliest armed attacks in Canadian history.
When did the attack start?
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they received a report of an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. GMT).
Police responded by deploying officers to the scene and issuing an active shooter alert for the rural community and surrounding areas.
“Shelter in place, lock your doors and avoid leaving your home or business at this time,” local residents were urged.
B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Nina Krieger said police arrived at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School “within two minutes” after receiving a call about an active shooting.
She said such a quick response had “without doubt” saved lives.
Police said they were called around 1:47 p.m. local time to the incident at the home.
The incident first happened at the home, then the suspect went to the school, officials said.
The motive for the attack is not yet known.
Tumbler Ridge has a population of approximately 2,400, and its high school has 160 students in grades 7-12.
What we know about the victims
Six people were killed at Tumbler Ridge High School, including a 39-year-old female educator, three female students, all aged 12, and two male students, one aged 12 and the other 13.
The majority of the other 25 injured were not shot, police said.
Two other people – the suspect’s mother, 39, and his half-brother, 11 – were found dead in a nearby house.
What do we know about the alleged attacker
Police identified the suspect as Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, a former student who dropped out four years ago.
The suspect was found dead inside the school, himself injured following the shooting.
Authorities said the suspect was biologically male but identified as female.
“I can say that Jesse was born as a biological male and started transitioning into a female about six years ago,” Dwayne McDonald, deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), told reporters.
McDonald said police have visited the suspect’s family home several times over the past few years, with some calls related to mental health issues. Police were last in contact with Van Rootselaar last year, he added.
Van Rootselaar previously had a valid firearms license, which has since expired, McDonald said.
“We set tables and barricaded the door”: a survivor’s story
Darian Quist, a Grade 12 student at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, and his mother Shelley Quist, spoke to CBC Radio West host Sarah Penton about what happened.
Darian said that shortly after arriving in class, at 1:30 p.m. local time, an alarm sounded in the hallways with instructions to close the doors due to the lockdown.
He said the doors were closed for a while, when he and his classmates realized something was wrong.
He said he was receiving photos of the scene on his phone.
“We collected tables and barricaded doors” for more than two hours, Darian said, until police arrived to escort them from the school.
Once outside, he found his mother at a nearby community center.
Shelley Quist said that on her phone she earlier heard police “breaking down” her son’s classroom door and several students being escorted out of the school.
“That’s when I left the house. We live very close, a block from the community center. I literally ran there,” she told CBC.
How Canada reacted to the attack
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka told CBC the community is small and close-knit and he expects the victims to all be people he knows.
“I’ll know every victim. I’ve been here 19 years and we’re a small community,” he said after leaving City Hall when the shelter-in-place order was lifted.
“I don’t call them residents. I call them family.”
Tumbler Ridge town councilor Chris Norbury told BBC Radio 4’s Today program the whole community was in shock after the shooting.
“We’re not closing our doors here. It’s an incredibly safe community…we don’t have to worry about crime here,” he said, speaking live from the scene.
“It’s a big tragedy here,” he said.
The counselor described going to the high school and seeing emergency services blocking the entrance.
“We have three police vehicles in our town, we are very small. We are a small community. We know each other, we all know the victims. They are our friends, our friends’ children.”
British Columbia Premier David Eby described the shooting as “a devastating and unimaginable tragedy.”
“We can’t imagine what the community is going through. But I know it makes us all hold our children a little tighter tonight,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decided to suspend a planned trip to Germany and, in emotional remarks, lamented the “difficult day” – the first of many in the aftermath of the attack.
“The nation mourns with you. Canada stands with you,” he said.
“We will get through this. But for now, now is the time to come together, as Canadians do in these terrible situations. To support each other, to cry together, and to grow together.”
Where is Tumbler Ridge?
The rural community is located approximately 670 km (415 miles) northeast of Vancouver.
It is mainly known for its coal mines, but also for the discovery of dinosaur fossils. Tumbler Ridge promotes itself as the land of dinosaurs and waterfalls to attract tourists.
What are Canada’s gun laws?
In Canada, gun ownership is largely regulated at the federal level – by the national government – and there are stricter gun laws than in most US states.
Under the country’s firearms law, firearms must be locked and unloaded. Anyone wishing to purchase a firearm is also subject to a thorough background check.
A national freeze on private ownership of all short-barreled firearms has also been in place in Canada since 2022.
That said, a number of people across the country own guns, especially in rural areas.
In the past, Canada’s Department of Justice has reported that British Columbia – home to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School – has a greater number of handguns than anywhere else in the country.
