Canada School Shooting: 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar has been identified as suspect according to reports, she killed 8, wounded 27. Second-deadliest in Canadian history after École Polytechnique. Timeline and victims.
Canada School Shooting: Jesse Van Rootselaar Had Mental Health Contact With Police Before Killing 8 in Tumbler Ridge, RCMP Confirms (Image: X)
Canada School Shooting: Royal Canadian Mounted Police have identified 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar as the suspect who killed eight people and wounded 27 others in a shooting spree at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a private residence on February 11, 2026, marking Canada's second-deadliest school shooting in history. Van Rootselaar, a former student of the school and Tumbler Ridge resident, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene and had a prior history of mental health contact with police, according to RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has ordered flags on federal buildings flown at half-staff for seven days as the remote community of 2,400 mourns its deadliest day.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday, February 11, 2026, at approximately 1:20 p.m. local time at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, which enrolls approximately 160 students in Grades 7 through 12. A secondary crime scene was identified at a private residence believed connected to the suspect.
A Police Initiated Public Alert was issued, telling residents to shelter in place. Police arrived on scene within two minutes. The alert was officially cancelled at 5:45 p.m.
Jesse Van Rootselaar was an 18-year-old former student of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a resident of the small mountain community approximately 670 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. Police confirmed Van Rootselaar was transgender, having been born biologically male and identifying as female both socially and publicly.
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald stated that Van Rootselaar had been apprehended under the Mental Health Act in a previous interaction with police. The suspect had no known relationship to any of the victims at the school.
McDonald told reporters that investigators "will struggle" to ever determine a definitive motive for the attack.
Police have released the ages, identities, and relationships of the nine deceased, including the suspect.
At Tumbler Ridge Secondary School:
At a Private Residence (Secondary Scene):
Police stated the "majority" of injured were not shot and "most of our victims are quite young."
The Tumbler Ridge attack is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history.
School shootings remain rare in Canada, which maintains stricter gun control laws than the United States. Canadians over 18 must pass a firearms safety course and hold a licence renewed every five years. Restricted firearms like handguns must be registered.
An emotional Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the nation: "Parents, grandparents, sisters, and brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you, and Canada stands by you."
A: February 11, 2026, at approximately 1:20 p.m. local time.
A: It is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canada, after École Polytechnique in 1989.
A: Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, a Tumbler Ridge resident who was transgender and had prior mental health contact with police.
A: Nine total, including the suspect. Eight victims: five students and one teacher at the school, and the suspect's mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at a residence.
A: Twenty-seven. Two female students airlifted with life-threatening injuries survived; 25 others treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
A: Yes. Students and staff sheltered in place for more than two hours before evacuation.
Disclaimer: This information is based on inputs from news agency reports. TSG does not independently confirm the information provided by the relevant sources.
