Police said Wednesday that the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge shooting, which left eight people dead and around twenty injured in western Canada, is an 18-year-old transgender woman from this small town. She also opened fire on law enforcement and shot her mother and half-brother, authorities said. His motive remains unknown at this time.
Published on: 02/11/2026 - 22:16
The suspect in the Tumbler Ridge massacre, which left eight people dead in western Canada, is an 18-year-old woman who also shot at law enforcement, the police announced on Wednesday February 11 at a press conference.
This young woman, Jesse Van Rootselaar, presented by the police as transgender, opened fire in a middle school, killing five children aged 12 and 13 and a 39-year-old teacher. She also shot her mother and her brother in a residence, explained the assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Dwayne McDonald.
Her motive remains immediately unknown, according to the authorities, who also indicated that they had visited the suspect's home several times in the past for mental health problems.
The police revised the death toll from the killing to eight on Wednesday, after announcing nine deaths the day before. Some 25 people were also injured, some of whom are still between life and death.
Weapons confiscated then returned
When law enforcement arrived on the scene, “shots were fired in their direction” by this person, explained Dwayne McDonald. The shooter was carrying a long-barreled weapon and a pistol when she was found dead due to "a self-inflicted gunshot wound", he added at a press conference. According to him, weapons had been confiscated from the suspect before being returned.
Tumbler Ridge is a small, isolated town of around 2,300 residents at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in the province of British Columbia, several hours' drive from any urban center.
“We will overcome this ordeal. We will learn from it,” promised Mark Carney, calling on Canadians to “come together” in a country in shock, unaccustomed to killings of this type unlike the American neighbor. The head of government also denounced an act of "unbelievable cruelty" which plunged the nation "into stupor" and "mourning", in front of Parliament where a minute of silence was observed. Flags on government buildings will be flown at half-mast for a week.
“One of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history”
Nina Krieger, Minister of Public Safety of the province, spoke of "one of the worst mass shootings in the history" of Canada. “We are going to come together and make sure we listen to those who want to speak” after this “great tragedy,” Darryl Krakowka, the mayor of Tumbler Ridge, told public broadcaster CBC.
The British royal family said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by this tragedy, in a press release from King Charles III, also head of state of Canada.
This is the second killing in British Columbia in less than a year. In April 2025, a man killed 11 people in Vancouver by driving his truck into a crowd. Although killings are less frequent in Canada than in the United States, statistics over the last decade show a constant increase in crimes committed with firearms. In 2020, Canada banned 1,500 models of assault weapons in response to the deadliest mass shooting in its history, which left 22 dead in the province of Nova Scotia.
With AFP
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