Canada shooter who killed 8 was mentally ill trans woman
12 Feb 2026

The perpetrator of a deadly school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, has been identified as an 18-year-old woman named Jesse Van Rootselaar.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that Rootselaar had a history of mental health issues and had been detained under the provincial Mental Health Act on multiple occasions in the past.

After the attack, she died by suicide.

Police, however, did not give a motive for one of the worst mass shootings in Canada's history.

Shooter dropped out of school
School

Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia, stated that Rootselaar had attended the school but dropped out four years ago.

"Police had attended that (family) residence on multiple occasions over the past several years, dealing with concerns of mental health with respect to our suspect," McDonald said.

Rootselaar was born male but began to identify as a female six years ago.

Shooter shot her mother and stepbrother at home
Attack overview

McDonald said Rootselaar had first killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at the family home before heading to the school.

There, she shot a 39-year-old woman teacher, three 12-year-old female students, and two male students, one 12 and the other 13.

The police have revised the death toll to nine from an initial report of 10, including the shooter.

Prime Minister Carney orders flags to fly at half-mast
National mourning

Prime Minister Mark Carney, almost in tears, expressed his shock and sadness over the incident, calling it one of Canada's worst mass shootings.

He postponed a European trip and ordered flags on government buildings to fly at half-mast for seven days.

In a moment of silence in the House of Commons, he said Tumbler Ridge "represents the very best of Canada."

School shootings are very rare in Canada
Incidents

School shootings are very rare in Canada, unlike in the United States, which makes the recent shooting among the deadliest in Canadian history.

That being said, Canadians can still own firearms with a license.

In Canada's bloodiest school shooting, a gunman killed 14 female students and injured 13 others at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal, Quebec, before killing himself in 1989.