Canada<\/a>, in the form of civic resources, grief and trauma counsellors, therapy animals, food and donations. Hotels are fully booked, pushing new arrivals to towns more than a hour\u2019s drive away.<\/p>\nCaruso, who retired four years ago, worked as a paramedic, pastor and police chaplain \u2013 a career at the nexus of grief, tragedy and compassion that he said made him suited to the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard but I\u2019m wired for this. I spent my life with first responders. And so I know the police, firefighters, paramedics \u2013 they\u2019re just wrecked. They\u2019re destroyed,\u201d he said. \u201cBut so are the people here in Tumbler Ridge. And how they\u2019re cared for right now is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday, police said the shooter had been, \u201cfor lack of a better term, hunting\u201d. Armed with two guns, \u201cthey were prepared and engaging anybody and everybody they could come in contact with\u201d.<\/p>\n
Investigators have identified the suspect as Jesse Van Rootselaar. Police said Van Rootselaar is a transgender woman.<\/p>\n
The prime minister, Mark Carney, who travelled to Tumbler Ridge with other federal party leaders in a show of national unity, praised the heroism of first responders and the courage of students and teachers who had been trapped in the school as the shooter stalked the halls..<\/p>\n
Mark Carney visits a makeshift memorial in Tumbler Ridge on Friday. Photograph: AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cStanding here together in your home, we wanted you to hear that Canadians are with you and we will always be with you,\u201d Carney said. \u201cWhatever portion of your sadness that Canadians can bear to help you ease your heavy load, we will gladly do so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caruso said the grim details of the attack would add a layer to how counsellors and support workers would help victims and the broader community navigate the unpredictable and turbulent nature of grief.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like there was a car accident. It\u2019s not like it\u2019s a terminal illness. This was murder. Someone did this in cold blood. And as a result, something innocent was stolen,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned over the years that life will go on. But it will also take a piece of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caruso and his wife intend to spend the next months in town to help residents rebuild emotionally. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to not to ask what if I had been here earlier, if we could have been here to bring compassion,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there is hope. It might not feel like there is for the parents who lost their kids, or the victims that are gone. But there\u2019s hope for those that remain. That\u2019s what funerals are all about. It\u2019s not for the person that\u2019s gone. It\u2019s for the people around you.\u201d<\/p>\n
A sign reading \u2018Tumbler Ridge Strong\u2019 in the town on Saturday. Photograph: Christinne Muschi\/AP<\/p>\n
Speaking at a vigil, Carney said Tumbler Ridge was defined by people who cared for each other. \u201cYou held each other \u2013 as you\u2019re holding each other right now. This is grace. It\u2019s what we do for each other; it\u2019s what we receive from each other,\u201d he said. \u201cOpen hearts when the world falls apart.\u201d<\/p>\n
That the tragedy occurred in a community of less than 2,500 people means first responders knew the victims and not a single person was untouched by loss. In a part of the province known as the Peace region, when the residents of Tumbler Ridge hurt, the pain is felt deeply nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to be part of the solution and to do whatever I could to help people,\u201d said Milo MacDonald, the city manager of nearby Fort St John, who had recently arrived in Tumbler Ridge with colleagues. \u201cThere\u2019s an awful lot of people right now that want to help. They want to reduce suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neighbouring communities are sending large-scale resources and small gestures that have an outsized impact. MacDonald said lifeguards and skating technicians had been sent down from his community to ensure places such as the community swimming pool and ice rink could remain open for children.<\/p>\n
MacDonald, who worked as a police officer for 25 years, including relief stints in Tumbler Ridge, said he was devastated by the horror inflicted on a group of \u201cgenuinely good\u201d people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI experienced tragedies as a police officer, but never anything close to this magnitude,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll admit it\u2019s incredibly hard because my sons are a similar age. My hope is that these kinds of things make us focus on our humanity and our common ground. In moments like this you need a confirmation of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
A mother and son pay their respects at a memorial for the victims. Photograph: Christinne Muschi\/AP<\/p>\n
While the droves of people arriving from outside the community have overwhelmed the town\u2019s infrastructure, their presence is nonetheless welcomed by residents.<\/p>\n
Lynn Way, 82, who has lived in the town for more than three decades, said: \u201cWhen I lost my son not too long ago, I wanted to just shut the world out. I wanted to just die. He didn\u2019t want a service but I had a get-together and people came from all over. People I didn\u2019t even know. I knew then how much my son was loved. And they wanted to come and let me know. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening in this town right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Way said there was a \u201cheaviness\u201d in the air when she stepped outside, but Tumbler Ridge was still a safe town. \u201cYou can still leave your door unlocked. That hasn\u2019t changed. This town will get through it, but those poor people that lost their children and their loved ones, it\u2019s going to take longer. That\u2019s a fact of life. All we can do is just say: \u2018Hey, if you need something, I\u2019m here for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent days, a logo with mountain peaks and a red heart has appeared with the words Tumbler Ridge Strong, a nod to the collective resilience needed in the town and a confidence that it exists within each resident.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat feels so hard right now is that none of this is real,\u201d Way said. \u201cIt won\u2019t be real until the first funeral. Then you see the grief you never thought possible. When you lose someone close to you, it takes a year before you can really live with it. And you do. But you don\u2019t ever forget. Ever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Jim Caruso heard the news of the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, he knew immediately he needed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[64,63,137,514,515],"class_list":["post-487286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}