Après la tuerie au Canada, les enquêteurs s'interrogent sur le profil de la jeune fille suspectée
This young woman, Jesse Van Rootselaar, described by police as transgender, opened fire Tuesday in a high school in this small, isolated mining town in British Columbia, killing five children aged 12 and 13 and a 39-year-old educator.
She also shot and killed her mother and brother at a residence, explained RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald. She took her own life before she could be apprehended.
A few hundred residents gathered Wednesday evening in the center of this small town for a vigil of tribute, placing flowers, candles or stuffed animals around a tree.
Several of them, including teenagers, were in tears.
Emphraim Almazan, who arrived three years ago to work in a mine, told AFP that he "couldn't believe" that this tragedy had taken place there.
Everyone in Tumbler Ridge knows a victim, said retired miner Kevin Matthews. "To move forward, we'll need to stand by the grieving families, be close to them," he told AFP.
Visibly moved, Mayor Darryl Krakowka called on residents Wednesday evening to support one another: "Listen when someone needs to be listened to, (...), hug each other."
Authorities say they do not know a motive at this time. They confirm they have visited the suspect's home several times in the past for mental health issues.
When questioned about this at a press conference, the Premier of the province of British Columbia, David Eby, simply said he had asked the local health system "what interactions may have taken place" with this 18-year-old woman.
Police revised the death toll to eight on Wednesday, after announcing nine deaths the previous day. Some 25 people were also injured, some of whom remain in critical condition.
Upon the arrival of law enforcement at the scene, Jesse Van Rootselaar fired shots "in their direction," explained Dwayne McDonald.
She was carrying a long gun and a pistol when she was found dead due to "a self-inflicted gunshot wound," he added at a press conference.
"Schools should be secured," Gigi Rejano, who works at a restaurant in Tumbler Ridge, told AFP; "Every school should have a guard" during opening hours "so that parents have peace of mind."
According to the police, weapons had been confiscated from the suspect's home, before being returned.
Tumbler Ridge is a small, isolated town of some 2,300 inhabitants at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, several hours' drive from any urban center.
"We will overcome this ordeal. We will learn from it," promised Mark Carney, calling on Canadians to "come together" in a country in shock, unaccustomed to such mass shootings unlike its American neighbor.
The head of government denounced an act of "unprecedented cruelty" that plunged the nation "into shock."
The British royal family said they were "deeply shocked and saddened" by this tragedy, in a statement from King Charles III, who is also the head of state of Canada.
This is the second mass shooting in British Columbia in less than a year. In April 2025, a man killed 11 people in Vancouver by driving his truck into a crowd.
This type of attack is exceptional in Canadian schools. It strikes a mining town known for its outdoor tourism, with its proximity to mountains and a geological park.
Although mass shootings are less frequent in Canada than in the United States, statistics over the last decade show a steady increase in crimes committed with firearms.
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