A mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in a small Canadian town left nine people dead and 27 wounded, making it one of the most lethal attacks in Canada’s history.
The attack occurred on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 10, 2026, in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, a tight-knit community of roughly 1,800 residents located more than 685 miles northeast of Vancouver in the Rocky Mountain foothills. Police were notified of an active shooter at 1:20 p.m. MST, triggering a lockdown that continued for over four hours until authorities declared the situation under control at 5:45 p.m. PT.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) discovered six victims inside the school, along with the suspected gunman, who died from a self-inflicted injury. Two more victims were found dead at a nearby home connected to the incident, bringing the total number of fatalities to nine, including the shooter. Another person was critically hurt, transported by air to a hospital, and survived.
In all, 27 individuals were injured during the attack. Emergency medical teams airlifted multiple patients to hospitals, with at least two reported to be in severe or life-threatening condition.
The shooter, publicly identified by the RCMP as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had previously been a student at the school. RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald stated that Van Rootselaar, a biological male, began transitioning to female approximately six years earlier. The motive for the attack, the deadliest in Canada since 2020, has not yet been determined.
Investigators later confirmed that the firearms used were legally owned and registered to the shooter’s mother.
As the crisis unfolded, students sheltered in locked classrooms for more than two hours. Grade 12 student Darian Quist told CBC that he and his classmates began barricading doors once they realized the emergency was real, calling the moment “almost surreal.”
Bryan Castellarin, father of 15-year-old survivor Ashton, described the terror his son and others experienced: “All of a sudden they heard gunshots going off.” Students hid for two to three hours. “My son was trying to console them. He tried to stay as calm as he could, but he is pretty shaken up, and he is scared.”
After the building was secured, police instructed students to leave with their hands raised and conducted searches before allowing them to reunite with waiting families. British Columbia Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger credited the officers’ rapid response — they arrived within two minutes — with preventing additional loss of life.
Tumbler Ridge, founded in the early 1980s to support local coal mining, has been profoundly shaken by the attack. Mayor Darryl Krakowka emphasized the closeness of the community. “I will know every victim. I’ve been here 18 years, and we’re a small community,” he told CBC. “I don’t call them residents. I call them family.”
Hundreds attended a candlelight vigil two days later, filling the community center to grieve together.
Prime Minister Mark Carney ordered federal buildings to lower their flags to half-mast for seven days and cancelled Wednesday’s question period in Parliament. An emotional Carney addressed lawmakers, stating, “Parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you and Canada stands by you.”
Carney also cancelled his planned trip to the Munich Security Conference to remain in Canada. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger announced that trauma-informed counselors were being sent to support the community.
Condolences poured in from around the world. King Charles III and Queen Camilla conveyed their sorrow, calling the attack “a senseless act of brutal violence.” Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre urged Canadians to rally behind the affected families. Governor General Mary Simon offered her own message of support, saying, “In this unimaginable moment of tragedy, the whole of Canada has Tumbler Ridge in its thoughts.”
Hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser, whose Team Canada held an Olympic training camp nearby in 2010, shared her condolences. The Toronto Blue Jays also