At least eight people and the suspected attacker were killed in a shooting at a secondary school in the Canadian province of British Columbia, police said on Wednesday, in what officials described as one of the deadliest school attacks in the country in recent years.
The shooting took place at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in the small community of Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said six victims were found dead inside the school, while another died en route to hospital. Two additional victims were discovered at a residence believed to be connected to the suspect.
Police identified the suspected shooter as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar. Officers said the suspect died after the attack and confirmed there was no ongoing threat to the public. Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, head of the RCMP in British Columbia, said police had previously attended the suspect’s family residence in response to incidents related to mental health concerns. Authorities said they had not established a motive.
According to the RCMP, those killed at the school included a 39-year-old female educator, three 12-year-old female students, and two male students aged between 12 and 13. At the family home, police found the bodies of the suspect’s 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old brother.
Two other individuals were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries and remained in critical but stable condition on Wednesday. Around 25 others were assessed and treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local medical centre. All remaining students and staff were safely evacuated from the school, police said. Authorities have not released details about the weapon used.
Superintendent Ken Floyd of the RCMP said investigators were continuing to search properties in the community to determine whether any additional sites were linked to the incident. “We are not in a place now to understand why and what may have motivated this tragedy,” he said, describing the situation as rapidly evolving and dynamic.
The town of Tumbler Ridge, located in the foothills of the British Columbia Rocky Mountains more than 1,100 kilometres north of Vancouver, has a population of fewer than 3,000 people. Mayor Darryl Krakowka said the scale of the loss had devastated the community. He said he had lived in the town for 18 years and likely knew many of the victims.
British Columbia Premier David Eby described the shooting as an “unimaginable tragedy” and said provincial authorities would provide support to those affected. “Our hearts are in Tumbler Ridge tonight with the families of those who have lost loved ones,” he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed condolences in remarks to reporters and announced that flags at federal buildings would be lowered to half-mast for seven days. He cancelled a planned trip to the Munich Security Conference in Germany and said Canada’s public safety minister would travel to the scene.
“We will get through this. We will learn from this,” Carney said. “But right now, it’s a time to come together … to support each other and to mourn together.”
Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre said he was devastated by the loss of life and extended his condolences to the victims’ families.
Students described barricading themselves inside classrooms as the attack unfolded. Darian Quist, a Grade 12 student, told the CBC that he and classmates used tables to block doors for more than two hours. He described the experience as surreal and said the school had only about 20 students in his year level.
The shooting has renewed debate over gun control in Canada. While the country has stricter firearms regulations than the United States, it has experienced several high-profile mass shootings in recent years. In 2022, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau introduced measures including a freeze on the sale and transfer of handguns.
In April 2020, a gunman killed 22 people in Nova Scotia during a 13-hour rampage before being shot by police. Canada’s deadliest school shooting occurred in 1989, when 14 women were killed at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.
Authorities said the investigation into the Tumbler Ridge attack was continuing and that further updates would be provided as more information becomes available.