Canada School Shooting: 9 Dead, Teen Identified as Shooter

Nine people, including the shooter, are dead following a shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in western Canada on Tuesday, one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country’s recent history. Police revised the initial death toll down from ten to nine.

Authorities have identified the suspect as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a resident of Tumbler Ridge. The shootings unfolded in two locations: a private residence and the high school. According to police, Van Rootselaar killed her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at their home before proceeding to the school and opening fire.

At the school, six people were killed: a 39-year-old female educator, three 12-year-old female students, and two male students aged 12 and 13. Two more victims were airlifted to hospital with “significant injuries” and remain in critical condition. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have not yet publicly released the names of the victims.

The incident unfolded on Tuesday, February 10, 2026, prompting a lockdown of the school as students and faculty barricaded themselves in classrooms and offices. Police responded to calls at the school after receiving a report from a female youth related to the suspect and victims. Initial reports indicated a female suspect, later confirmed to be Van Rootselaar, who died after the shooting.

Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the RCMP stated that police had responded to calls at the family residence multiple times over the past several years due to “concerns” about the suspect’s “mental health.” Approximately two years ago, firearms were seized from the home under the criminal code, but were later returned after a petition from the lawful owner.

Two firearms were recovered at the scene: a long gun and a modified handgun. Police are investigating the origins of the weapons and their role in the shooting. Van Rootselaar had a firearms license that expired in 2024 and did not have any firearms currently registered to her.

The suspect had dropped out of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School approximately four years ago and was not currently enrolled as a student. Authorities have stated there is no information at this point to suggest any of the victims at the school were specifically targeted.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, visibly shaken, expressed his devastation and promised Canadians that the country would overcome the tragedy. He postponed a scheduled announcement and trip to Germany in response to the shooting.

Tumbler Ridge is a remote municipality with a population of around 2,400 people, located at the base of the Rocky Mountains, approximately 1,155 kilometers (717 miles) northeast of Vancouver. Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has 160 students in grades seven through twelve, aged between 12 and 18. The school will remain closed for the rest of the week and will offer psychological support to students in need.

The RCMP responded to the scene within two minutes of receiving the initial call, a response lauded by Columbia British Columbia’s Minister of Public Safety, Nina Krieger, who suggested the swift action likely saved lives.

Canada has stricter gun laws than the United States, but Canadians can legally possess firearms with a license. Since 2020, the government has introduced several restrictions on short-barreled firearms and military-style weapons, partly in response to a mass shooting in Nova Scotia and the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Van Rootselaar was born male and had begun transitioning approximately six years ago, identifying publicly as female.

This shooting is among the deadliest in Canadian history. In April 2020, a gunman disguised as a police officer killed 22 people in Nova Scotia over a 13-hour period before being shot dead by police. The worst school shooting in Canadian history occurred in December 1989, when a gunman killed 14 female students and injured 13 at the École Polytechnique in Montreal before taking his own life.