{"id":293109,"date":"2026-02-11T22:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/293109\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T22:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:38:09","slug":"suspect-in-canadian-mass-shooting-named-as-18-year-old-jesse-van-rootselaar-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/293109\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspect in Canadian mass shooting named as 18-year-old Jesse van Rootselaar \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian<\/a> police named the suspect in a school and home shooting in British Columbia as 18-year-old local resident Jesse van Rootselaar.<\/p>\n

Police said they were still searching for a motive for one of the country\u2019s deadliest mass shootings in which the assailant killed nine people and then themselves in the small, close-knit community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia.<\/p>\n

At Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, six victims\u2019 bodies were recovered as well as that of the suspect. One of the 10 victims died while being transported from the school to a hospital and two other bodies were discovered at a private residence.<\/p>\n

Deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the suspect was \u201cborn as a biological male, who . . . approximately six years ago began to transition to female and identified as female\u201d.<\/p>\n

McDonald said there was no information to suggest any of the victims in the secondary school were specifically targeted. Most of the dead, he said, were \u201cquite young\u201d and born in 2012 and 2013.<\/p>\n

He confirmed police had attended a residence on multiple occasions over the past several years, dealing with mental health concerns relating to the suspect.<\/p>\n

The deputy commissioner said the suspect was apprehended on different occasions for assessment and follow-up under mental health laws.<\/p>\n

Police, he said, had attended the suspect\u2019s residence approximately two years ago, where firearms were seized. <\/p>\n

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney<\/a> made an emotional statement to journalists arriving at parliament in Ottawa on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously a very difficult day for the nation,\u201d said Carney. \u201cThis morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CanadianCanadian prime minister Mark Carney speaks to the media about the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, in which 10 people were killed, including the suspect. Photograph: Dave Chan\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe will get through this. We will learn from this. But right now, it\u2019s a time to come together, as Canadians always do in these situations, these terrible situations, to support each other, to mourn together and to grow together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney, who had already suspended plans to travel to Germany for the high-level Munich security conference, said he had ordered flags on all government buildings be flown at half mast for the next seven days. <\/p>\n

At parliament, Carney and other parties planned to stand for a moment of silence.<\/p>\n

The attack has left people reeling in Canada, where mass shootings are rare, especially compared with the US. While the country has relatively high levels of gun ownership, it has imposed much stricter laws than its southern neighbour, including a ban on assault-style firearms and a freeze on the sale of handguns.<\/p>\n

Carney said he was also dispatching the federal public safety minister, Gary Anandasangaree, to Tumbler Ridge, an isolated town of fewer than 2,500 residents in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, more than 1,000km north-east of Vancouver by road.<\/p>\n

In addition to the 10 deaths, at least two other people were hospitalised with serious or life-threatening wounds and as many as 25 people were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.<\/p>\n

The town\u2019s mayor, Darryl Krakowka, said the small community was like a \u201cbig family\u201d.<\/p>\n

British Columbia\u2019s public safety minister, Nina Krieger, said \u201cspeed and professionalism\u201d saved lives, adding that a small detachment from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had \u201cresponded in two minutes\u201d.<\/p>\n

An alert sent by the police to people in the area had described the suspect as \u201cfemale in a dress with brown hair\u201d. Police superintendent Ken Floyd later confirmed at a news conference that the suspect described in the alert was the same person found dead in the school.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Canada school shooting: \u2018I will know every victim,\u2019 says mayor of close-knit Tumbler RidgeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Floyd said police would not comment on the possible motive of the attacker. \u201cWe\u2019re following all leads to try to determine the connection to the shooter,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we will struggle to determine the \u2018why\u2019, but we will try our best to determine what transpired.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was not clear how many of the dead or injured were minors.<\/p>\n

A 12-year-old girl was said to be \u201cfighting for her life\u201d in a Vancouver hospital after being shot in the head and neck, according to a widely shared Facebook post local media said was written by the girl\u2019s mother, Cia Edmonds.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a lucky one, I suppose. Condolences to the other families during this tragedy,\u201d the post read. \u201cThis doesn\u2019t even feel real.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA screengrab from a video showing students leaving Tumbler Ridge secondary school in British Columbia after the shooting. Photograph: Jordon Kosik via AP <\/p>\n

The district of Tumbler Ridge issued a statement on Tuesday afternoon, calling the shooting a \u201cdeeply distressing\u201d incident. \u201cWe recognise that many residents may be feeling shocked, scared and overwhelmed,\u201d the district said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the days ahead, we know this will be difficult for many to process. Please check in on one another, lean on available supports and know that Tumbler Ridge is a strong and caring community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tumbler Ridge secondary school has 160 students in grades seven to 12, roughly ages 12 to 18, according to its website. The school will be closed for the rest of the week and counselling will be made available to those in need, school officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no words that can ease the fear and pain that events like this cause in a school community,\u201d the Tumbler Ridge parent advisory council said in a statement. \u201cWe want families to know that the safety and wellbeing of students and staff are paramount, and we are grateful to the first responders and emergency personnel who acted quickly and professionally.\u201d – The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canadian police named the suspect in a school and home shooting in British Columbia as 18-year-old local resident…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[289,42,8189,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-293109","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-canada","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-mark-carney","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-top-news","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-topnews","15":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}