What we covered here
• Canada’s deadliest school shooting in decades: A shooter killed at least eight people and wounded dozens more at a high school in the tiny Canadian mountain town of Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday.
• Suspect identified: The suspect is an 18-year-old woman who had dropped out of the school about four years ago, police said. She was born biologically male and transitioned about six years ago, police said. Officers had visited her residence several times due to mental health concerns.
• Most of the victims were children: Five students between 12 and 13 years old, as well as the 11-year-old stepbrother of the suspect, were killed in the shooting. The wounded include a 12-year-old girl who is fighting for her life in hospital.
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12-year-old shooting victim remembered by her father as a "beautiful soul"
The father of 12-year-old Kylie Smith has confirmed she was among those killed in the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday.
Lance Younge told Canadian network CTV his daughter was a “beautiful soul” and urged other parents to tell their kids “you love them every day.”
Younge recalled sending Kylie and her 15-year-old brother Ethan to school that morning. “I didn’t know it would be the last time they would go to school together,” he told CTV.
Kylie’s brother Ethan survived the shooting after hiding in a utility room, their stepmother Jennifer Geary told CTV.
“Hold your kids tight, tell them you love them every day. You never know, you never know,” Younge told CTV, sobbing.
How strict are Canada's gun laws?
Canada has much stricter gun laws than the United States, and school shootings of this scale are almost unheard of.
In 2023, 38% of homicides in Canada involved a firearm, while 76% of homicides in the US were firearm-related, according to an analysis by Canada’s national statistics body using police-reported data from the Uniform Crime Reporting programs in both countries.
Canadian law requires citizens to undergo robust background checks before obtaining a gun license. Gun laws were expanded in 2022.
In Canada, there are an estimated 35 guns per 100 residents compared to 121 firearms for every 100 residents in the US, according to a 2018 Small Arms Research project report.
In British Columbia, where the shooting occurred, there are 368,433 firearms licences issued, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s 2024 Firearms Report. This is higher than most other provinces or territories.
In Pictures: Vigils held for victims of Tumbler Ridge shooting
BC Premier says he will be looking into suspected shooter's interactions with mental health system
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he will be seeking information from the province’s health system about what interactions they may have had with the suspected Tumbler Ridge school shooter.
“There are going to be a lot of questions going forward, trying to learn lessons, to do whatever we can to prevent a horrific event like this from happening again,” he said during a news conference Wednesday.
“Police will share information as they’re able to. Within government, we’ve begun the process of reaching out to Northern Health to understand what interactions may have taken place.”
Police previously said they had visited the suspect’s residence on numerous occasions before the attack on mental-health related calls.
"We're one big family," mayor says during emotional news conference
Tumbler Ridge’s Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the town is “one big family,” as he choked back tears during a news conference alongside federal and provincial officials Wednesday evening.
He encouraged residents to support each other. “Lend your ear when somebody needs your ear, lend your shoulder when somebody needs your shoulder. Give somebody a hug,” he said.
Krakowka thanked the British Columbia Premier and other officials for providing assistance.
“We’re going to need your support.”
12-year-old girl fighting for her life in hospital after school shooting
A 12-year-old girl, Maya, who was shot in the head and neck at Tumbler Ridge secondary school is fighting for her life in hospital, according to note from her mother on a GoFundMe page verified by CNN.
Maya was severely wounded in the school shooting Tuesday and was transported to Vancouver Children’s Hospital, where she is currently in critical care, according to the GoFundMe, organized by a relative.
“Today started as any other,” Maya’s mother Cia Edmonds wrote in an update on the page. “Now, however, my 12 year old daughter is fighting for her life while they try to repair the damage from a gun shot wound to the head. And one to the neck.”
“This doesn’t even feel real,” she said. “I never thought I would be asking for prayers… but please please, pray for my baby.”
In a later update to the page, Edmonds wrote that she is holding on to a “shred of hope.”
“We need a miracle,” she said.
"Our community has been shaken," says Tumbler Ridge mayor
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the remote mountain town is grieving together following Tuesday’s mass shooting.
“We are devastated by the loss of life and the profound impact this tragedy has had on families, students, staff, and our entire district and region. Our community has been shaken by this tragedy,” Krakowka said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We recognize that there are many questions to be answered as we all try to make sense of this incomprehensible and devastating event,” he said, asking residents to rely on official police updates for information.
Krakowka also thanked “brave teachers, administrators, students and first responders” and encouraged Tumbler Ridge residents to check in on one another.
Thursday declared day of mourning in British Columbia
Thursday has been declared a day of mourning in Canada’s British Columbia after a shooter killed eight people in Tumbler Ridge, in the northeast of the province.
The day of mourning was announced in a joint statement from the provincial legislature’s three house leaders, Government House Leader Mike Farnworth; Official Opposition House Leader Á’a:líya Warbus; and BC Greens House Leader Rob Botterell.
The Throne Speech, which was initially scheduled to take place tomorrow to mark the first day of the spring legislative session, has been postponed. The legislative assembly will hold a moment of silence at noon to honor the victims, their families and the Tumbler Ridge community.
Here's what we know about the alleged shooter in British Columbia
Police identified the alleged shooter in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, as Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old female resident of the town who had “dropped out of school approximately four years ago.”
Van Rootselaar “was not currently attending school,” Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told reporters Wednesday. Authorities found her dead, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, in the school.
McDonald said that police had visited Van Rootselaar’s “residence on multiple occasions over the past several years, dealing with concerns of mental health with respect to our suspect.”
Later, McDonald said that the most recent occasion for a police visit was the “spring of last year,” over “concerns regarding mental health, self harm.”
“I can say that on different occasions, the suspect was apprehended for assessment and follow up,” McDonald said. Firearms were seized from the home, and later returned after the owner petitioned for them.
Asked whether Van Rootselaar was transgender, McDonald said that police were identifying her “as they chose to be identified in public and in social media.”
“I can say that Jesse was born as a biological male who approximately six years ago began to transition to female and identified as female, both socially and publicly,” McDonald said.
There is no information that suggests Van Rootselaar experienced “bullying” at school related to her transition, McDonald said.
Among the victims of Tuesday’s shooting were Van Rootselaar’s mother and step-brother. McDonald said that the two were found in a residence after the school shooting, when a young female relative alerted a neighbor.
Young female relative of suspected Tumbler Ridge shooter alerted neighbor
Police said a young female relative at the Tumbler Ridge home of the suspected shooter alerted neighbors to the attack, who then raised the alarm.
Two family members were killed at the suspected shooter’s home, before the suspect continued to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told a news conference Wednesday.
Police did not receive a call from the neighbor to attend the home until 1:47 p.m. Pacific time, around 17 minutes after Royal Canadian Mounted Police first received reports of an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
Most of the victims in Tumbler Ridge are "quite young," police say
Police said Wednesday that most of the victims of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge are “quite young,” and that families are still being notified of their conditions.
“We’re currently ongoing with the family notification,” said Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “I will say, as I mentioned before, that most of our victims are quite young. Most were born at 2013, 2012.”
Sergeant Vanessa Munn added at the end of the presser that the victims included “three 12-year-old female students, two male students, ages 12 and 13” – correcting earlier ages quoted by McDonald.
Any public identification of victims, McDonald continued, would be closely coordinated with family members.
“This is incredibly traumatic, and so we’ll deal with and work with the families, cooperate with them in terms of the release of the identities of the victims,” McDonald said.
“We don’t want to create additional trauma for families that are dealing with probably the worst circumstances of their lives.”
Tumbler Ridge: the "instant town" at the heart of a national tragedy
Tumbler Ridge, where a mass shooting left at least eight people dead on Tuesday, is a small town of about 2,400 people, nestled in the eastern foothills of Canada’s Rocky Mountains in British Columbia.
One of British Columbia’s newest towns, it was founded in the 1980s as a coal mining community, part of a provincial resource development megaproject. It has been called one of British Columbia’s last “instant towns” – remote resource communities where long-term settlement and community development was encouraged by the government.
Two nearby coal mines, the town’s major employers, opened in 1983, but due to falling coal prices and market uncertainty, both had shut down by 2003.
The town’s planners have noted the resilience of Tumbler Ridge, how it continued to survive after the coal mining industry in the area collapsed.
“It’s a town of of miners, teachers, construction workers, families who have built their lives there – people who have always shown up for each other there,” Carney said.
“When wildfires raged, neighbors helped each other pack up and move out of harm’s way,” Carney said. “They checked in on seniors and those living alone. They made sure no one was left behind.”
Police correct death toll down to eight killed by shooter in Tumbler Ridge
Police have corrected the death toll of the Tumbler Ridge shooting to eight killed by the shooter, who then killed herself.
Authorities previously believed nine people were killed in one of Canada’s worst mass shootings in decades, in addition to the shooter.
Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said police had initially believed one of the victims had died from “significant” injuries, but in fact survived.
“She is alive, and it was one of the two female victims that were airlifted to hospital,” McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Wednesday, adding that both the victims remain in serious condition.
Police say they do not know the motive behind the shooting
Canadian police say that they do not know the motive behind the shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, and that “it would be too early to speculate” on one.
“We understand the community has questions, and we understand they want to know the motive behind this tragic incident,” said Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald.
“We do believe the suspect acted alone, and there are currently no other outstanding suspects,” McDonald added. “Our investigators remain on scene, actively gathering information to determine the full circumstances of what transpired.”
Asked whether the alleged shooter left a note or any kind of communication, McDonald said the police had not located one.
“Recognizing we’re still less than 24 hours into this incident, (a motive) is something that we are certainly passionately pursuing,” McDonald said. “But it would be too early to speculate on motive.”
Police had visited Tumbler Ridge suspect's family residence on previous occasions
Police had visited the family residence of the suspect in the deadly Tumbler Ridge shooting on numerous occasions before the attack that killed at least eight people and injured dozens.
“Some of the calls were related to mental health issues,” Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told a news conference on Wednesday.
Two firearms, a long gun and a modified handgun were recovered by responding officers, McDonald said.
“Police have attended that residence in the past, approximately a couple of years ago, where firearms were seized under the Criminal Code. 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,” the deputy commissioner added.
Tumbler Ridge victims include a teacher, students, and suspect's mother and step-brother, police say
The deceased victims in the Tumbler Ridge shooting include a teacher, several students, and two relatives of the suspected shooter, police said Wednesday.
“The deceased victims from the school include an adult female educator, three female students and two male students,” said Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Later in the press conference, Sergeant Vanessa Munn said the victims included “three 12-year-old female students, two male students, ages 12 and 13” – correcting earlier ages quoted by McDonald.
“Two additional victims, an adult female and a male youth were located deceased in the local residence,” McDonald said, adding that those two additional victims were the suspect’s mother and step-brother.
“The female adult victim is the mother of the suspect, and the youth male is the brother of the suspect, or step-brother,” McDonald said.
Canadian police identify suspect in Tumbler Ridge shootings
Police have identified the person they suspect of killing eight people and injuring dozens in a shooting in Tumbler Ridge, Canada.
The suspect is an 18-year-old female named Jesse Van Rootselaar, Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, commanding officer of the British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police (BC RCMP), said at a news conference Wednesday.
McDonald said that the suspect was assigned male at birth and began transitioning to female six years ago.
The suspect was a resident of Tumbler Ridge, the officer said.
The shooting is one of Canada’s deadliest in decades. Authorities revised the death toll to eight this afternoon, saying one of the victims who was thought to have died from injuries survived.
“Tumbler Ridge represents the very best of Canada,” PM Carney says
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his condolences to the community of Tumbler Ridge for the mass shooting that killed at least eight people and injured dozens.
“Tumbler Ridge represents the very best of Canada: resilient, compassionate, and strong,” he said during an address to the House of Commons on Wednesday, following a moment of silence.
Carney said his government is in close contact with provincial and local officials to help provide support to the Tumbler Ridge community.
“Yesterday morning, parents in Tumbler Ridge sent their children off to school, and some will never be able to hug their children again,” Carney said in French. “These children and their teachers bore witness to unheard of cruelty.”
The prime minister said there will be “important questions to ask” and “difficult conversations to have,” in the days ahead.
“But now, it’s time for grieving and remembrance, now is for the people of Tumbler Ridge and the Peace River region – for a community that is enduring the unimaginable,” Carney added.
Shooting occurred soon after Canada began a buy-back program for assault rifles
While Canada has tighter restrictions on gun ownership than the United States, guns are nonetheless a hot-button political issue in the country, which is still trying to implement gun laws passed after a deadly mass shooting in 2020.
“Canada actually has a fairly high rate of civilian gun ownership compared to other advanced democracies,” said Blake Brown, a professor at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia and expert on Canadian gun control.
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 noted that Tuesday’s shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, occurred soon after the federal government had unveiled a much-debated, long-awaited buy-back program for prohibited firearms, first proposed after the country suffered its worst mass shooting in 2020.
In mid-January, Ottawa announced that owners of any of the 2,500 prohibited makes and models of assault-style firearms – including AR-15s – have until March 31 to turn in their weapons and receive compensation. After that date, gun owners won’t be compensated – but they’ll still have to return their firearms.
“The promise (in 2020) was that they were going to purchase these weapons, to offer owners of them money to get these guns back,” Brown said. “And that’s been very, very slow to happen.”
Part of the reason for that delay is pushback from gun owners. Though Canada’s gun lobby is much smaller than its counterparts in the US, Brown says that they are still “sizeable.”
There’s also been opposition from the country’s Conservative Party. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has frequently slammed the buy-back program as a “gun grab” that would harm law-abiding gun owners.
There are also implementation issues. Some provinces, like Alberta, have said it won’t participate in the buy-back at all.
“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.”
