OTTAWA, Canada: Canadian police on Wednesday identified the perpetrator of one of the country’s deadliest school shootings, which occurred on Tuesday, as an 18-year-old woman with a documented history of mental-health concerns.
Authorities said the suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, acted alone in the attack in the remote community of Tumbler Ridge in the Pacific province of British Columbia.
The shooting left nine people dead before the attacker took her own life. Police later revised the death toll down from an initial figure of 10, according to Reuters.
According to officials, Van Rootselaar — who was born male but began identifying as female six years ago — first carried out a fatal attack at her family residence.
Police said she killed her 39-year-old mother and her 11-year-old step-brother before proceeding to the local school.
Once at the school, Van Rootselaar opened fire, killing a 39-year-old female teacher, three 12-year-old girls, and two male students aged 12 and 13. The suspect later committed suicide at the scene, police confirmed.
“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,” said Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, commander of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in British Columbia.
McDonald told a press conference that investigators believe the suspect acted alone and that it was too early to determine a motive behind the attack.
“We do believe the suspect acted alone … it would be too early to speculate on motive,” he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the nation, visibly shaken by the tragedy. He described the shooting as “terrible” and said Canadians would come together in the face of the loss.
Carney announced that he had postponed a planned trip to Europe and ordered flags on all federal government buildings to be flown at half-mast for seven days in honour of the victims.
“We will get through this. We will learn from this,” the prime minister told reporters, at one point appearing close to tears.
“But right now, it’s a time to come together, as Canadians always do in these situations — these terrible situations — to support each other, to mourn together and to grow together.”
Messages of condolence poured in from around the world. King Charles, Canada’s head of state, said he was “profoundly shocked and saddened” by the loss of life, extending his sympathies to the victims’ families and the wider community.
Among Canada’s Deadliest Shootings
The attack ranks among the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history. While Canada enforces stricter gun laws than the United States, civilians are permitted to own firearms with a valid licence.
In April 2020, Canada experienced its deadliest mass shooting when a 51-year-old man, disguised as a police officer and driving a replica police vehicle, killed 22 people during a 13-hour rampage in Nova Scotia before being shot dead by police.
The country’s worst school shooting occurred in December 1989, when a gunman killed 14 female students and wounded 13 others at Montreal’s École Polytechnique before taking his own life.
“There’s not a word in the English language that’s strong enough to describe the level of devastation that this community has experienced,” said Larry Neufeld, a local provincial legislator.
“It’s going to take a significant amount of effort and a significant amount of courage to repair that terror,” he told CBC News.
