An 18-year-old woman with a history of mental health interventions killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school in western Canada.
The suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, died by suicide after the attack in Tumbler Ridge, a remote British Columbia town of about 2,400 people. Authorities revised the death toll to nine, including the suspect, down from an initial figure of 10.
Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Van Rootselaar had previously been detained under the province’s Mental Health Act. Police had responded to the family home several times in recent years over mental health concerns.
Victims at Home and School
Police said the suspect first killed her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at their home before going to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
At the school, a 39-year-old female teacher, three 12-year-old girls and two boys aged 12 and 13 were killed. Dozens were injured and two remain in hospital in serious condition.
Officers arrived within two minutes of the emergency call and encountered active gunfire before finding the suspect dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. A long gun and a modified handgun were recovered.
Investigators believe the suspect acted alone and said there is no evidence specific individuals were targeted. A motive has not been established.
National Shock and Local Grief
Prime Minister Mark Carney cancelled a planned trip to Europe and ordered flags on federal buildings to be flown at half-mast for seven days. Lawmakers observed a moment of silence in the House of Commons.
«We will get through this. We will learn from this,» Carney said, describing the country as being in shock and mourning.
Mayor Darryl Krakowka called Tumbler Ridge «one big family» and urged residents to support one another.
Tributes to the victims began to emerge as the small, close-knit community struggled to come to terms with the attack, which ranks among the deadliest in Canadian history.
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