02/12/2026, 07:4502/12/2026, 07:45
In the western Canadian village of Tumbler Ridge, several people were killed in shootings at a school on Tuesday. The police released new information on Wednesday – this is known.
How many deaths are there?
According to police, the alleged shooter killed six people at the school and later herself. Two more bodies were found in a residential building.
Mourners with candles at Tumbler Ridge.Image: keystone
Apparently the crimes are connected because, according to the police, the other two victims are the suspect’s 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old stepbrother. The 18-year-old is said to have first killed her family members and then made her way to school. The police later found the other dead there – three students, two students and a teacher – in the stairwell and in the school library, among other places.
The police initially said there were ten deaths in total, but later corrected the figure to nine. The age of the students killed was initially given as 13 to 17 years old, then corrected to 12 to 13 years old. There were also reports of around two dozen injuries. At least two of them are still in critical condition, investigators said. Some victims injured themselves while trying to get to safety at school in a panic.
What do you know about the suspect?
The suspect is 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, police in the western province of British Columbia said. She was herself a resident of the rural community of Tumbler Ridge.
A police car near the crime scene.Image: keystone
Regarding the identity of the suspects, a police spokesman said: “We are identifying the suspect as he has identified himself publicly and on social media.” But he could say that the perpetrator was registered as male at birth. The police currently have no information about whether the suspect experienced bullying and other discrimination at school. She dropped out of school four years ago.
What do you know about the motif?
Nothing is known about the motive behind the crime. The relationship between the suspected teenager and the victims is part of the investigation, police said. According to a spokesman, emergency services had visited the suspects’ home address several times in recent years and seized weapons.
According to authorities, the suspect used several firearms. However, it is still unclear how she could have gotten the murder weapons. According to an investigator, no weapons were registered to them.
The police officer also spoke of the alleged shooter’s “mental health problems” without giving any further details.
What does Prime Minister Carney say?
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney appeared in front of the press, visibly touched, and announced that there would be national mourning for the next seven days. He called Tumbler Ridge, the scene of the incident, “a town of miners, teachers, construction workers, families who built their lives there – people who were always there for each other.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.Image: keystone
Have there been similar cases in Canada?
According to Canadian media, it is the most serious incident of its kind at a school or college in the North American country since 1989. At that time, a 25-year-old shot 14 female students at a technical college in Montreal before taking his own life.
Gun violence is much less common in Canada than in its southern neighbor, the USA, where the problem is much greater and school shootings occur relatively frequently. Experts attribute this to Canada’s significantly stricter gun laws. (dab/sda/dpa)