RCMP revise death toll to 9
Students walk out of the school building with their hands up after an assailant opened fire at a high school in the town of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., on Feb. 10, 2026. Western Standard/ Jordon Kosik/Handout via Reuters
Police have identified the suspect in the killing of multiple people at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in B.C. as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar of Tumbler Ridge.
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said at a Feb. 11 press conference that nine people, including the shooter, were killed in the Feb. 10 incident and 27 others were injured. McDonald said the police force was wrong in its earlier assessment that 10 people had died.
McDonald said one teacher and five students, aged 12 to 13, were found dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. He added that Van Rootselaar’s mother and a sibling were also found dead at the family home.
Neighbours of the suspect’s family who spoke to The Epoch Times described Van Rootselaar as a transgender person with a history of mental health issues.
Police confirmed the suspect was born as a biological male, and began a gender transition process roughly six years ago. Authorities also said they have a history of attending the suspect’s residence, including for mental health issues as well as to secure firearms. McDonald said the most recent visit occurred last spring and was connected to issues of mental health and firearm-related concerns.
McDonald corrected the RCMP’s earlier report that one of the victims had died en route to hospital. That victim was actually one of two seriously injured individuals flown to the hospital, he said. One of them is now in stable condition, while the other remains in critical condition.
McDonald said police believe the suspect died of self-inflicted injuries and that investigators have concluded no one else was involved in the killings.
Officers found the suspect’s mother and stepbrother dead at their residence on the same day as the shooting. Police said they are believed to have been killed by the suspect. The incident at the home likely occurred first, followed by the shooting at the school.
McDonald said a child related to Van Rootselaars told a neighbour what had happened at the home, prompting the neighbour to call the police.
He said the suspect was not known to have a connection to any individuals who were killed at the school, and added that police have not found any notes left by Van Rootselaar prior to the incident.
Investigation Ongoing
McDonald added that police are “passionately pursuing” the motive for the killings, and noted that most of the victims are “quite young,” born in 2012 and 2013. He said family notification for those killed is ongoing.
“We don’t want to create additional trauma for families,” McDonald said.
The school shooting victims include a 39-year-old female educator, three 12-year-old female students, and two male students, aged 12 and 13, police said. A 39-year-old female and an 11-year-old male were also found dead at a residence in Tumbler Ridge.
McDonald said when police arrived at the high school on the afternoon of Feb. 10, there was “active gunfire” and officers had rounds fired in their direction as they approached. Within minutes police located the suspect already dead from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, he said.
Police said officers recovered two firearms at the scene, a long gun and a modified handgun. McDonald said police are still determining the origin of the firearms and how they were procured.
He said the delay in releasing the identity of the suspect was due to the nature of the investigation.
“It’s important to recognize that yesterday, when we first provided the media availability, it was approximately five hours after the act,” McDonald said. “At that point in time, we were still trying to lock down locations, we had victims we were evacuating. You can imagine the scene was quite chaotic, with a significant amount of trauma.”
RCMP said Van Rootselaar did not have any firearms registered to his name but did have a firearms licence which had expired in 2024. McDonald said Van Rootselaar had dropped out of high school approximately four years ago.