Nine dead in Tumbler Ridge school shooting, the second-deadliest in Canadian history

Nine people are dead, including the shooter, and about 25 were injured after a shooting at a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, a small town in northeastern British Columbia, on Tuesday afternoon (November 10). The RCMP has identified the shooter as 18-year-old local resident Jesse Van Rootselaar, who died by suicide at the school. Police believe the shooter acted alone; the motive remains unknown.

Six dead at the school, including five students aged 12 and 13

The RCMP said officers were called to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School at about 1:20 p.m. on Tuesday after reports of gunfire. Inside the school they found six dead: a 39-year-old teacher and five students — three 12-year-old girls and two boys, aged 12 and 13. About 25 other people were injured, including one person initially believed dead who survived and remains in critical condition. Local resident Dennis Campbell told CBC his daughter had just come out of a school bathroom when the shooting began.

Two more dead at the shooter's home

Police later searched the shooter's home and found her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old step-brother dead from gunshot wounds. RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told a briefing on Wednesday that the two deaths at the home happened before the school shooting. The death toll, including the shooter, was first reported as 10 and later revised down to nine.

The shooter and the weapons

McDonald said Van Rootselaar entered the school carrying a long gun and a modified handgun; both weapons were seized. Her firearms licence had expired in 2024 and she had no firearms registered to her. Police said they had responded to the home over several years on mental-health-related calls, some of them concerning weapons. The RCMP also said Van Rootselaar was born male and had begun living as female about six years ago, and that police refer to her by the name and identity she used in life. The motive is still unknown and the investigation is in its early stages.

Second-deadliest in Canadian history; a nation in mourning

It is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history, behind the 1989 École Polytechnique attack in Montreal, in which a gunman killed 14 women before taking his own life. Tumbler Ridge has a population of about 2,400 and sits in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Canada observed a day of mourning for the victims on Wednesday (November 11). The RCMP said the attack is believed to have been a solo act and no other suspects are being sought; the investigation continues.