Matt Vespa | February 11, 2026 3:00 PM | Townhall
There was a horrific shooting in British Columbia, Canada, yesterday. At least seven people were killed, with another 25 injured, at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Those wounded were reported not to be suffering from life-threatening injuries. The suspect was described as a “ woman wearing a dress,” and the phrase “gunperson” was used by Canadian police to describe the suspect, which led many to suspect the shooter was transgender. The gunman was found dead on site by police (via NYT):
Canada was reeling on Wednesday, a day after a shooter killed nine people and injured 25 others in a remote town in northeastern British Columbia, the third-deadliest shooting in the country’s history.
Seven people were found dead in Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, including a person believed to be the shooter, who died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted injury, according to Superintendent Ken Floyd of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Two other people were found dead in a local residence that the police believed to be connected to the shooting.
Another person died while being transported from the school to the hospital, and 25 people suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, the police said in a statement.
[…]
The police have not released the shooter’s identity, details about the firearms used or how they were obtained. Superintendent Floyd said the suspected shooter found dead in the school was the same person mentioned in a police alert at around 1:20 p.m., which described the person as a “female in a dress with brown hair.”
The police have not identified the victims or provided their ages, as officers were still notifying their families, Premier David Eby of British Columbia said in a news briefing. Students hid for hours inside the school while the shooting unfolded.
Is this the suspect? There were Internet sleuths claiming the ‘gunperson’ was Jesse van Rootselaar, 18. Old posts allegedly showed this person at the gun range, detailing what appeared to be severe mental health issues. It was confirmed later today that Strang was the shooter:
Police knew Van Rootselaar, answering calls to the residence multiple times over the past several years, all related to mental health episodes. Rootselaar used two firearms for the attack and later committed suicide. Rootselaar’s mother and step-sibling were also discovered dead inside their home. Authorities were unsure whether the shooter was receiving or seeking treatment (via Toronto Star)
The suspect used two firearms — a long gun and a modified handgun — that were recovered by responding officers, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said. But police are not identifying the makes and models of the weapons at this point.
Police had attended the residence in the past, several years ago, and seized firearms under the criminal code, McDonald said, without providing further details.
[…]
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald confirmed that police had attended the suspect’s family residence “on multiple occasions over the past several years,” with some of those calls relating to mental health issues.
“I can say that on different occasions, the suspect was apprehended for assessment and follow-up” under the Mental Health Act, McDonald said. On certain occasions, she was taken to the hospital.
McDonald said police were unaware whether the suspect was receiving any help or counselling for their mental health.
[…]
In an update on Wednesday, the RCMP said the victims of the Tumbler Ridge shooting included the following:
A 39 year old female educator
Three 12-year-old female students
Two male students, ages 12 and 13
Two additional victims were a 39 year old female and an 11 year old male that were located, deceased at a local residence, later confirmed to be the mother and stepbrother of the suspect.
[…]
RCMP officials have identified the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge shooting as an 18-year-old woman named Jesse Van Rootselaar, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told reporters Wednesday.
The shooter was found dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, McDonald said. Nine people in total were killed, including the shooter, contrary to initial reports of ten total deaths.
These included two people found dead at a local residence. The victims were identified as Van Rootselaar’s mother and step-sibling.
The initial emergency alert of the shooting described the lone suspect as a “female in a dress with brown hair.”
Lord Buckbeak: "Will you come into my parlor?," said the Spider to the Fly. 