Father of Tumbler Ridge School Shooter Issues a Statement

The father of the suspect in this week’s mass shooting at a British Columbia high school is speaking out about the tragedy that left nine people dead, including the shooter.

Five students and one teacher were killed during the Feb. 10 shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northeastern B.C. that left 27 others injured. The suspected shooter, whom the RCMP have identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, was also found dead at the scene.

The bodies of the suspected shooter’s mother and 11-year-old step-brother were also found at the family home.

Justin VanRootselaar has issued a statement to the media about the tragedy and has requested that it be printed in its entirety. It says:

There are moments when words feel far too small for the sorrow we are carrying together. What has happened has left an ache in the heart of our town that will not soon fade. In a place where we know each other by name, where we pass one another in the grocery store and gather at the same community events, this loss feels deeply personal to us all.

To the families who have lost loved ones, and to every person who has been affected by this senseless and unforgivable act of violence, I offer my most heartfelt condolences. I cannot begin to imagine the depth of your grief. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and that I share in the profound sadness that has settled over our community.

As the biological father of the individual responsible, I carry a sorrow that is difficult to put into words. I was estranged from Jesse Strang and was not part of his life. His mother declined my involvement from the beginning, and I was not given the opportunity to be a part of raising him. Jesse did not use the VanRootselaar family name at any point in his life. While that distance is the reality of our relationship, it does not lessen the heartbreak I feel for the pain that has been caused to innocent people and to the town we call home.

This is a time for compassion, for holding one another close, and for supporting the families who are grieving such unimaginable loss.

As we respect your grief, we respectfully ask that you also respect ours. There will be no further statements.

With deepest sympathy,

Justin VanRootselaar

Details Emerge

Justin VanRootselaar’s statement comes as details continue to surface about the 18-year-old shooter and his victims.

While his biological father noted in his statement that his estranged son went by Jesse Strang, the RCMP have consistently identified him as Jesse Van Rootselaar.

His mother, Jennifer Jacobs, originally identified by police as Jennifer Strang, and his 11-year-old step-brother Emmett Jacobs were found dead at the family’s home. Police have said the pair were killed prior to the school shooting.

Police have also released the names of the five students and teacher who were killed at the secondary school, which serves students in grades 7 through 12.

The victims are 12-year-olds Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert, Abel Mwansa, and Kylie Smith. Thirteen-year-old Ezekiel Schofield and teacher Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39, were also killed.

In addition to the fatalities, police reported 27 students were injured and two were airlifted to hospital. One of the injured, 12-year-old Maya Gebala, was shot in the head and neck and is in critical condition at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.

The second student to be airlifted to the hospital was Paige Hoekstra, who sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and is now officially out of danger and in the process of recovery, according to a post from her older sister.

Police have said Jesse Van Rootselaar—who was born a biological male and had transitioned to female in recent years—was found dead at the scene of the school shooting with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A long gun and modified handgun were recovered at the scene, police said.

Jesse Van Rootselaar was a high school dropout with a history of mental health issues. Police said officers visited the suspect’s household on several occasions related to mental health issues as well as to secure firearms.

The Tumbler Ridge school shooting is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history. Fourteen were killed during the 1989 École Polytechnique shooting in Montreal.