Prime Minister Mark Carney led a candlelight vigil in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, pledging Canada’s enduring support to a grief-stricken community reeling from one of the deadliest mass shootings in the country’s history. Eight victims were killed in Tuesday’s rampage, which began at a family home and continued at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
Carney arrived in the remote mining town with the heads of opposition parties in a show of national solidarity. “I know that nothing I can say will bring your children home. I know that no words from me or anyone can fill the silence in your homes tonight, and I won’t pretend otherwise,” he told mourners gathered outside the town hall on a frigid night. “We wanted you to hear that Canadians are with you, and we will always be with you.”
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Leaders struck a somber tone as they addressed families and first-responders. “As a father, I’m thinking about those wonderful, precious children that were lost and the parents that are now left with a gaping and unfillable hole,” the Conservative Party leader said.
Authorities identified the shooter as Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old transgender woman. Police said she killed her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old brother at their home before driving to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where six more people — five students and a teacher — were shot dead. Van Rootselaar later took her own life, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
The RCMP said Van Rootselaar was “hunting” and that “there was no specific targeting of any individuals.” Officers said she was known to have mental health issues and released a photo showing her in a hoodie with an expressionless face. An RCMP officer remained posted outside the family’s modest brown house, which was sealed with police tape; two overturned bicycles lay in the snowy front yard.
The shooter’s estranged father, Justin Van Rootselaar, issued a statement to public broadcaster CBC offering condolences for what he called a “senseless and unforgivable act of violence.”
Vigil-goers traveled from across the region to stand with the town of roughly 2,400 residents. Tumbler Ridge, built four decades ago and set 1,180 kilometers north of Vancouver, has long prided itself on close ties forged by distance and hard work. “I just needed to be here,” said Christine James, who drove 120 kilometers from Dawson Creek.
Families began to share the names and faces behind the headlines. At the community center, the mother of 12-year-old victim Ticaria spoke through tears. “She had a beautiful, strong voice that was silenced,” said Sarah Lampert. “She is forever my baby, because that’s what she was. She was a baby.”
Also killed at the school was 12-year-old Zoey Benoit. “She was so resilient, vibrant, smart, caring and the strongest little girl you could meet,” her family said in a statement. Peter Schofield wrote that the death of his 13-year-old grandson, Ezekiel, felt “so surreal,” adding, “The tears just keep flowing.”
Even as the town grieved, there were glimpses of routine returning. Inside the community center, children skated and played hockey on the ice. “This will not break us,” said Pastor George Rowe. “I think we’re going to be OK.”
Carney met privately with first-responders, health workers and local leaders before the vigil. He said he came away with a deeper sense of “what has always defined this community: people caring for each other.” The RCMP investigation is ongoing.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
