The Tumbler Ridge Health Centre Emergency Department, in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Canada, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. ( Credit - Jesse Boily—The Canadian Press via Associated Press
A suspect has been identified in the mass shooting in a remote British Columbia town that left nine people dead, including the person believed to be the attacker.
Police identified the suspected shooter as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who was found dead at the school where the shooting occurred from what police described as a self‑inflicted injury. Six victims were also found dead in the school, and two more at a nearby home. More than 25 people were woundedin the rampage, including two who were airlifted to hospital from the school with serious injuries.
The town of Tumbler Ridge is some 600 miles from the nearest large city, Vancouver, in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. It has a population of 2,400.
Read more:Canada Risks Following the Path of the U.S. on Gun Violence
Mass shootings in Canada are rare due to the country's strict gun laws. But locals have described Tumbler Ridge as a hunting town where gun ownership is common, in interviews with the media.
The shooting at Tumbler Ridge may be the deadliest school shooting since 14 women were killed in the Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal on Dec. 6, 1989, before the gunman took his own life.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a post on social media that he was "devastated" by what he described as "horrific acts of violence."
"I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens," he wrote.
World leaders have also offered condolences in the wake of the shooting. In astatementposted on the Royal Family's X account, King Charles III expressed "our deepest possible sympathy to the families who are grieving the most unimaginable loss of their loved ones and those still awaiting news from hospital."
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka called the town "one big family" that would be mourning the tragedy. Hundreds gathered on Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil in Tumbler Ridge.
Here is everything we know about the shooting so far.
How the attack unfolded
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they received a report of an "active shooter" at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School at approximately 1:20 pm on Tuesday.
Jarbas Noronha, who teaches a 12th grade auto mechanic shop class at the school, told the New YorkTimesthat he learned of the shooting when a student came running to the shop saying they heard gunshots.
Minutes later, he said, the principal ran to the shop and shouted "Lockdown!" He and the students then barricaded the doors with metal benches.
Police entered the school to find six victims, approximately 25 others who had been wounded, and the person believed to be the shooter, who was "found deceased with what appears to be a self‑inflicted injury," according to areleasefrom the RCMP. All remaining students and staff were safely evacuated, police said.
The victims found dead at the school included a 39-year-old teacher and five students aged 12 to 13, according to the RCMP.
Video from the scene showed students exiting the school with their hands raised, while a helicopter landed nearby.
RCMP Superintendent Ken Floyd told reporters following the incident: "The scene was very dramatic, and there were multiple victims that are still being cared for."
Two people, a 12-year-old and a 19-year-old, were airlifted from the school to hospital with serious injuries, police said. The 12-year-old has been identified as Maya, according to aGoFundMe pageset up by her relative. As of early Thursday, she was in critical condition at Vancouver Children's Hospital, having suffered from gunshot wounds to the head and neck.
"This doesnt even feel real," Maya's mother, Cia Edmonds, wrote in a note on the page. "I never thought I would be asking for prayers.. but please please, pray for my baby."
Approximately 25 other people were being treated at local medical facilities for non‑life‑threatening injuries.
Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has 175 students, according to theprovincial government.
Police said a long gun and a modified handgun were recovered from the school.
Authorities also found two deceased victims, a 39-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy, at a home nearby.
What do we know about the suspect?
Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old resident of Tumbler Ridge, previously attended the school but dropped out about four years ago, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald.
McDonald said authorities visited Van Rootselaar's home "on multiple occasions over the past several years" in response to concerns about her mental health, most recently in the "spring of last year."
"I can say that on different occasions, the suspect was apprehended for assessment and follow up," he said, adding that "it's too early to say whether that has any correlation in this investigation."
The motive for the shooting is not yet clear.
Police identified the victims found at the home near the school as Van Rootselaar's mother, Jennifer Strang, and step-brother. McDonald said they appeared to have been killed at the residence, Van Rootselaar's family home, before the shooting at the school, and were found following the attack after a "young female relative" called the police.
A B.C. Supreme Court judgereportedlywrote that Strang's children "led an almost nomadic life" in a ruling in a 2015 family case, noting that the family had moved multiple times around the country.
McDonald said firearms were at one point seized from the home, but were later returned after "the lawful owner of those firearms" petitioned for them to be.
Van Rootselaar had a firearms license that expired in 2024, according to authorities, and did not have any guns registered in her name at the time of the shooting.
"There is no information at this point that anyone was specifically targeted," McDonald said. He said none of the victims at the school were related to Van Rootselaar.
What are Canada's gun laws?
Mass shootings are rare in Canada, but not unheard of. Its gun laws are much stricter than in the United States, but gun ownership is still widespread—especially inrural areas, where they are mostly used for hunting.
The Canadian government estimates that about 10,040,000 firearms are in circulation, according to its latest data, which isfrom 2020.
Canadians must have a license to own a firearm. To hold a license, they must be at least 18 and complete a safety course every five years. Certain types of guns—like handguns—must be registered.
Some exceptions are made for indigenous communities, who use guns for hunting.
Canada has made several changes to its gun laws in response to mass shootings. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced new restrictions in 2020 following a mass shooting in Portapique, Nova Scotia.
That shooting, in which 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman carried out multiple shootings and set fires at several locations while driving a fake police car, killing 22 people, was the deadliest shooting rampage in Canadian history.
Days after the attack, Trudeau announced a ban on some 1,500 types of assault-style weapons. Since then, the Canadian government hasbannedmore than 2,500 makes and models of "assault-style firearms."
The Canadian government also has a "buyback" scheme for military-style assault rifles.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam contributed reporting.
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