Canadian School Shooter Kills 9

In one of the deadliest mass killings in Canadian history, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed eight people across two locations in the remote town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on February 10, 2026. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reported that the violence began at approximately 2:20 p.m. at a residence on Fellers Avenue, where Van Rootselaar fatally shot her 39-year-old mother, Jennifer Strang, and her 11-year-old half-brother, Emmett Jacobs. A young female relative managed to flee the home to alert neighbors, but Van Rootselaar had already departed for her former school, Tumbler Ridge Secondary.

Armed with a long gun and a modified rifle, Van Rootselaar entered the school and opened fire at random, primarily targeting individuals in a stairwell and the library. The attack claimed the lives of 39-year-old educational assistant Shannda Aviugana-Durand and five students: Kylie Smith, Abel Mwansa, Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert, and Ezekiel Schofield, all aged between 12 and 13. RCMP officers arrived on the scene within two minutes and were briefly met with gunfire before finding the suspect deceased from a self-inflicted wound. In addition to the eight fatalities, 27 others were injured, including several children who were airlifted to Vancouver in critical condition.

Investigators have since characterized Van Rootselaar as a troubled individual with a history of mental health interventions and multiple prior wellness checks by local police. Authorities revealed that the suspect had an extensive online presence focused on graphic violence and had previously had her account terminated by OpenAI for violating safety policies regarding violent content. The tragedy has also drawn attention back to the suspect's family; on February 19, her half-brother, Jacob Jan Van Rootselaar, was arrested for breaching bail conditions related to a separate 2024 attempted murder charge. The community remains under a heavy police presence as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and local victim services work to support the survivors.