On February 10, 2026, a mass shooting occurred in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed two relatives at a residence before killing five students and a teacher at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Van Rootselaar, a former student at the school, died from a "self-inflicted injury" at the school. Twenty-seven others were injured. The incident was the deadliest mass shooting in Canada since the Nova Scotia attacks in 2020, and the deadliest school shooting in Canada since the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989. The incident is the highest casualty mass shooting event in Canadian history, with 36 total casualties (including the perpetrator). == Background == Tumbler Ridge is a small mining town with a population of 2,399, according to the 2021 census. Tumbler Ridge Secondary School is a public secondary school operated by School District 59 Peace River South and the designated secondary school for the town's primary school. For the 2025–26 school year, the school had 191 students from grades 7 to 12. Gun control legislation in Canada was greatly reinforced with the passage of the Firearms Act in 1995, following the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal. After the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks, such restrictions were further strengthened, with the sale, transport, importation or use of certain models of "assault-style" firearms banned via an Order in Council, with the deadline for firearm disposal set at October 30, 2026. The Canadian Firearms Program of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is tasked with enforcing the act. == Attacks == === Domestic shooting === An initial attack at a residence on Fellers Avenue resulted in the deaths of the attacker's mother and stepbrother. The police had already been called to the school when they were alerted of this attack by a family member. === School shooting === Van Rootselaar then went to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School with a modified handgun and a long gun and opened fire, first killing a victim in a stairwell. She then killed five others in the school's library before committing suicide. At approximately 2:20 p.m. MST, RCMP received a report of an active shooter at the school, which is approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the private residence. An alarm in the school instructed students to close the doors for a lockdown. Students then barricaded the doors with tables. An Alert Ready emergency alert was released in the region by the RCMP at around 3:15 p.m. MST, asking residents to shelter in place due to the active shooter situation. Other schools in the area were also placed on lockdown. The police emergency alert was cancelled at 6:45 p.m MST. Premier of British Columbia David Eby said the police reached the school within two minutes. Later on the same day, School District 59 announced that both schools in Tumbler Ridge would remain closed for the rest of the week. == Victims == Six victims were found dead inside the school; a seventh was mistakenly reported as deceased en route to the hospital, but survived. The deceased victims at the school were identified as a 39-year-old female educator, three female students all aged 12, and two male students aged 12 and 13. Two victims were found dead at a residence in Tumbler Ridge. RCMP confirmed that they were the perpetrator's mother and stepbrother, aged 39 and 11 respectively, and that they had been shot before the perpetrator attacked the school. Twenty-seven other people were treated for injuries, including two with serious injuries. A Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service aircraft was dispatched from Grande Prairie, Alberta. In a press conference, the British Columbia RCMP confirmed that two victims were airlifted out of Tumbler Ridge. One of the victims, a 12-year-old girl, was airlifted to British Columbia Children's Hospital in Vancouver. Her family said that she remained in critical condition after having been shot in the head and neck; they commended her friends who carried her out of the school after she was injured. === Names of victims === Abel Mwansa, 12 Ezekiel Schofield, 13 Kylie Smith, 12 Zoey Benoit, 12 Ticaria Lampert, 12 Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39 Emmett Jacobs, 11 Jennifer Jacobs, 39 == Perpetrator == Jesse Van Rootselaar (August 4, 2007 – February 10, 2026) was identified as the shooter by RCMP deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald, after initially being described by the RCMP as "a female in a dress with brown hair". McDonald stated that Van Rootselaar was a trans woman. Van Rootselaar had dropped out of school about four years prior; McDonald disclosed that there was no information that suggests she was bullied at school. Jesse Van Rootselaar and siblings had been the subject of custody disputes between their parents, and moved between Newfoundland and Labrador and Western Canada multiple times between 2010 and 2015. Van Rootselaar's YouTube profile picture featured the vocaloid character and synthesizer Hatsune Miku and an SKS rifle set against a striped background in the colors of the transgender flag. Her TikTok account, which used the same profile image as the YouTube account, featured multiple reposted videos of a transgender mass shooter who shot and killed six students at a Christian school in Nashville in 2023. In a social media post c. 2022, Van Rootselaar's mother "promoted the teenager's YouTube channel ... noting that her child 'posts about hunting, self-reliance, guns.'" Videos on the YouTube channel show Van Rootselaar "firing a high-powered Desert Eagle handgun at a shooting range", "carrying out target practice with a tactical 12-gauge shotgun and firing a semi-automatic carbine at targets" Van Rootselaar additionally described trying to "burn [her] house down after using psychedelic mushrooms, and regularly took DMT – another powerful hallucinogenic drug." After using psychedelic mushrooms in October 2023, she wrote: "I had a complete break from reality and did a lot of irrational things, I felt like I was dreaming. Many consequences ensued." According to The London Times, she claimed in 2023 to be treating ADHD and OCD with antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs. Van Rootselaar and her family were known to authorities; the police had last visited the home in spring 2025 regarding mental health issues. Van Rootselaar had previously held a valid minor's firearm licence, which allows for borrowing a non-restricted firearm; it had expired in 2024. She was not the owner of any firearms because acquiring and possessing firearms is not allowed with a minor's licence. She had a history of poor mental health and police had responded several times previously for mental health-related calls. RCMP confirmed that in a previous police visit in the past two years, "firearms were seized under the Criminal Code", but that "the lawful owner of those firearms petitioned for them to be returned, and they were." == Investigation == RCMP superintendent Ken Floyd stated at a press conference the day of the shooting that they were investigating how the shooter was connected to the victims. McDonald said in a February 11 press conference that police believed that Van Rootselaar had acted alone, and that they had not found a note or other communication from the shooter. Police recovered a long gun and a modified handgun from the school. == Reactions == Several Canadian politicians released statements offering their condolences to those affected by the shootings, including prime minister Mark Carney, BC premier David Eby, Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies MP Bob Zimmer, and Peace River South MLA Larry Neufeld. Carney cancelled his imminent trip to the 62nd Munich Security Conference in Europe, and announced that flags would be flown at half-mast on federal buildings and Parliament Hill for seven days. King Charles III of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee also expressed their condolences. At the time of the shooting, the Canadian team was competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Immediately following the shootings, BC Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Nina Krieger declared that her office would "deploy every resource" to support the investigation. After the shooting, Tumbler Ridge councillor Chris Norbury described Tumbler Ridge as "an incredibly safe community", stating that "we don't have to worry about crime here". Tumbler Ridge mayor Darryl Krakowka said, "I will know every victim. I've been here 19 years, and we're a small community". On February 12, two days after the shootings, the Prime Minister's Office stated that Carney intended to visit Tumbler Ridge in the coming days, and that an appropriate schedule was being arranged with local officials. Carney extended invitations to Opposition leaders to travel with him to the community on February 13. Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, and interim NDP leader Don Davies confirmed that they would travel with the prime minister to attend. Both before and after the perpetrator was revealed to be transgender, unsubstantiated claims involving misinformation about violence by transgender people were shared online. == See also == List of mass shootings in Canada List of school shootings in Canada == References ==