Who was Jesse Van Rootselaar? Tumbler Ridge school shooting suspect killed brother and mother before school carnage; police reveal details

Tumbler Ridge school shooting: Police have identified the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a resident of the northeastern B.C. community. The fatal mass shooting incident occurred in the remote Canadian town in northeastern British Columbia on Tuesday (February 10, 2026), leaving nine people, including Rootselaar, dead.

Police revised the death toll down to nine from the initially reported 10, according to reports. Briefing about the fatal shooting incident, Dwayne McDonald, a deputy commissioner with the RCMP in British Columbia, said most of the victims were 12- or 13-year-old students killed in their school library, according to NYT News Service.

What do we know about the shooter and the victims?

The suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, and her family were known to authorities, McDonald said, according to NYT News Service. He further stated that police had last visited the home in the spring for mental health issues that included self-harm.

Police also confirmed that Van Rootselaar was not attending Tumbler Ridge Secondary School at the time of the shooting and had dropped out approximately four years ago. Elaborating on the suspect, McDonald said that Van Rootselaar was biologically born male and began transitioning to female six years ago.

He added that police would continue identifying her as a female. He said that authorities were not yet able to say why the suspect had carried out the murder spree, which is being called one of the worst in Canadian history. He further stated that the police, who arrived at the school while the suspect was still shooting, had recovered a long gun and a modified handgun from the scene.

"Police had attended that residence on a number of occasions over the last several years dealing with concerns of mental health with our suspect," McDonald was quoted as saying by NYT News Service, referring to the home where the suspect's mother and stepbrother were found dead. On one of those occasions, he said, "firearms were seized. " The shooter also killed her mother, 39, and stepbrother, 11, before going to the school.

Two female students were injured and airlifted to a hospital, where they remained in serious condition Wednesday, NYT reported, citing officials. McDonald said he did not have the exact details of the injuries.

ALSO READ: 10 dead, including shooter, several injured in mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, BC school

The 25 students initially reported as injured Tuesday were the number of students who were taken to a local medical centre to be assessed. They did not have injuries but were triaged because of their appearance, McDonald said, citing the presence of blood on the children.

"You can imagine in a chaotic situation where the students and faculty are barricading themselves in rooms that many types of injuries could result," McDonald said, as quoted by NYT News Service. Students and teachers hid for hours inside the school during the attack.