Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will join opposition figures in the remote British Columbia town of Tumbler Ridge on Friday for a public vigil honoring the eight victims of one of the country’s deadliest mass shootings. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and Yves-Francois Blanchet, leader of the Bloc Quebecois, will attend alongside Carney, setting aside political differences to pay respects to those killed.
Police reports indicate the attacker, identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had a documented history of mental health problems. According to authorities, Van Rootselaar first fatally attacked family members at a home - killing her 39-year-old mother Jennifer Jacobs and her 11-year-old stepbrother Emmett Jacobs - before moving on to a school in Tumbler Ridge, a settlement of roughly 2,400 residents in the Canadian Rockies.
At the school, the assailant shot a teacher and five students, leaving six school-related victims dead. The teacher was named by police as 39-year-old Shannda Aviugana-Durand. The five students killed at the school were identified as Abel Mwansa, 12; Ezekiel Schofield, 13; Kylie Smith, 12; Zoey Benoit, 12; and Ticaria Lampert, 12. Police say Van Rootselaar died by suicide after the shootings.
Authorities have provided additional personal details about the attacker, saying Van Rootselaar was born male but began identifying as a woman six years earlier. Officials also said Van Rootselaar had earlier killed family members at the nearby home.
On Thursday, several residents of Tumbler Ridge declined to speak with media, and provincial police reported that families and friends of the victims had asked for privacy. A family statement released by police on behalf of the relatives of one of the victims, Kylie Smith, said: "Rest in paradise, sweet girl, our family will never be the same without you." The statement reflected the deep grief reverberating through the small community.
Police also disclosed that they had at one point seized firearms from the house where Van Rootselaar had been living, but later returned the weapons after the owner - not identified by police - successfully appealed that seizure. Officials have not provided further public detail about that process.
The shootings rank among the most lethal in Canada's recent history. Police and political leaders will gather at the vigil to honor the dead and support the bereaved community on Friday.
Victims named by police
- Abel Mwansa, 12
- Ezekiel Schofield, 13
- Kylie Smith, 12
- Zoey Benoit, 12
- Ticaria Lampert, 12
- Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39 (teacher)
- Jennifer Jacobs, 39 (mother)
- Emmett Jacobs, 11 (stepbrother)