New bathrooms and classroom units: School portables set to arrive, classes to resume as Tumbler Ridge B.C. returns to normal a week after fatal shooting

Things appear to be returning to normal a week after at least eight people were killed in a shooting at the community’s high school in the small mountain town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia (B.C.). The incident occurred on Tuesday (February 10, 2026), when an 18-year-old identified as Jesse Van Rootselaar carried out an attack on the school.

According to the Canadian Press, the British Columbia government said that portable facilities were arriving in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. This would allow children to return to school after the fatal shooting incident, which engulfed the community in fear. Among the deceased were six children aged 11 to 13, according to CBC News.

Police initially said that nine people were killed in the tragic incident, but Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald clarified on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) that there were eight fatalities, AP reported.


McDonald said the discrepancy arose from a victim who was airlifted to a medical centre. Authorities mistakenly thought that person had died. More than 25 people sustained wounds.

New facilities to arrive at the school

In a news release, the B.C. government said that the new facilities will be set up on the grounds of nearby Tumbler Ridge Elementary School, according to the Canadian Press. As part of the planned facilities, bathrooms arrived first on Monday (February 16, 2026), followed by classroom units on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) and Wednesday (February 18, 2026).

The shooting incident left five pupils and a teacher’s aide shot dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School by Rootselaar, after she killed her mother and 11-year-old half-brother at their home.

Police stated that Rootselaar was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted wound following the assault on a school in the small mountain community of Tumbler Ridge.

‘We ache for families of Tumbler Ridge’: B.C. Premier David Eby

In a statement acknowledging Family Day in British Columbia on Monday, British Columbia Premier David Eby said that the province was marking the holiday with heavy hearts. “We ache for the families of Tumbler Ridge. We hold them in our prayers and stand with them in their pain and grief,” he said, as quoted by The Canadian Press.

“On Family Day, we spend time with the people we love and who are important to us. This day offers us a chance to reflect on the importance of family, both the ones into which we are born and those we build. Family provides an anchor in uncertain times. May we all find comfort and support from our families.”

Eby’s government also stated that the single-wide trailers arriving this week were the first phase in the resumption of classes in a safe environment for Tumbler Ridge Secondary students.