8 killed in Canada school shooting, including members of suspect’s family: Police

A total of eight people were killed — most of them at a school — and more than two dozen were wounded, after a shooter opened fire on Tuesday in a small community in Canada’s British Columbia. Officials had earlier said nine people were killed before revising the death toll.

The suspected shooter — identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar — is dead from what is believed to be a self-inflicted injury, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The suspect did not currently have any firearms registered to her, according to the RCMP.

There was a documented history of police visits to the family residence over several years, with the most recent visit to the home in the spring of 2025. That visit was related to “concerns regarding mental health” and “self-harm” with respect to the suspect, British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said, during a press briefing on Wednesday.

Jordon Kosik/AP – PHOTO: This grab from video shows students exiting the Tumbler Ridge school after deadly shootings, in British Columbia, Canada, Feb. 10, 2026.
Van Rootselaar was not currently registered or attending the school where the shooting took place. Among the dead are members of the suspect’s family and students between the ages of 12 and 17, according to the RCMP.

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Van Rootselaar was assigned male at birth but publicly identified as a female, according to the RCMP.

The police have no leads as to the motive behind the shooting at this time, McDonald said.

“It’s something we’re certainly passionately pursuing, but it would be too early to speculate on motive at this time,” McDonald said.

“We don’t have information at this time to suggest that anyone was specifically targeted,” in the shooting, he added.

Trent Ernst/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: A police officer stands at a roadblock near the middle school and high school building where a shooting took place, leaving at least nine people dead in the small town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, February 10, 2026.
Police said the suspect was “apprehended for assessment and follow-up” under Canada’s Mental Health Act “on different occasions,” over the years. In some circumstances, the suspect was taken to the hospital, McDonald said.

Police had also visited the residence in the past, where firearms were seized “under the criminal code,” McDonald said. At a later time, the “lawful owner” of those firearms petitioned to have them returned, and they were. There were no criminal charges in relation to those firearms issued, McDonald said.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced seven days of mourning after the deadly shooting. A visibly emotional Carney called it “a very difficult day for the nation.”

“This morning, parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you,” Carney told reporters on Wednesday in Ottawa.

“We thank the first responders, the teachers, the staff, the residents, for everything that they’ve done in this terrible situation. I, on the advice of the Clerk of the Privy Council and Heritage Canada, I’ve asked that the flags of the Peace Tower here and across all government buildings be flown at half-mast for the next seven days,” he said.

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The shooting consisted of two incidents on Tuesday afternoon — one at a local residence and then at the school in the community. The incident at the home occurred first before the suspect headed for the school, McDonald said.

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The gunfire was reported at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School at about 1:20 p.m., the RCMP said.

Officers responding to the scene found six people dead inside the school, and two people were found dead at a local residence. The two people found dead at the residence are the suspect’s mom and stepbrother, police said.

Two other victims were airlifted to the hospital with serious or life-threatening injuries. Both of these people are now in critical, but stable condition, Canadian police said Wednesday afternoon. About 25 others were being assessed for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, authorities said.

Trent Ernst/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: This screengrab of a video shows the middle school and high school building where a shooting took place, leaving at least nine people dead in the small town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, February 10, 2026.
The eight victims of the shooting include a 39-year-old female educator, three 12-year-old female students and two male students — ages 12 and 13 — who were found dead at the school, according to Canadian police.

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The two victims found at the local residence were a 39-year-old female, the suspect’s mother, and an 11-year-old male, the suspect’s stepbrother, Canadian police said.

Police are not identifying the victims until all family members have been notified, McDonald said. Family notifications are ongoing, he added.

Carney said he was “devastated” by the shooting.

“I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens,” Carney said in the statement.

Tumbler Ridge is a small community of about 2,400 people located in the Northern Rockies in northeastern British Columbia.