Canada leaders mourn shooting victims
Memorial held after deadly school attack
Canadian leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney and opposition figures, laid flowers at a makeshift memorial in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, to honour victims of a mass shooting that left a teacher and five students dead. Officials exchanged embraces with grieving residents at the memorial near the school, where authorities say the attacker also killed their mother and stepbrother before carrying out the assault and then dying by suicide.
Police identified the attacker as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who had a history of mental health problems and had been living in the small Rockies town of about 2,400 people. Authorities said the attacker, who police noted was assigned male at birth but had identified as a woman for several years, did not target specific individuals at the school but instead engaged victims indiscriminately. The deceased school victims were named as Abel Mwansa, 12; Ezekiel Schofield, 13; Kylie Smith, 12; Zoey Benoit, 12; and Ticaria Lampert, 12, along with teacher Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials said two principal weapons used in the attack had not previously been seized; earlier reports indicate firearms were at one point taken from the residence where the attacker lived but later returned after an appeal by the owner. The incident has reignited scrutiny over firearm access and the adequacy of interventions for individuals with known mental health issues, with gun-rights groups questioning police decisions and others urging tighter safeguards.
The shooting ranks among the deadliest in recent Canadian history and has prompted heightened calls for policy review and community support. Local authorities and national leaders emphasised the need for privacy for victims’ families while pledging continued investigation. Community members and officials have organised counselling and vigils, and leaders urged unity and compassion as the town mourns and officials work to determine further details of the attack and any systemic failures that may have contributed to it.
