Who is Jesse Strang? Mass shooter, 18, who killed mom Jennifer and brother before murdering seven at Canadian high school
Transgender teenager Jesse Strang carried out one of the deadliest school shootings in Canadian history after opening fire at her family home.
Strang, 18, opened fire in the library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon, a source told the Daily Mail.
Strang was named by police on Wednesday as Jesse Van Rootselaar. He is understood to have used his mother’s name, Strang, socially and at school.
Three girls, two boys and a female teacher were killed in the massacre. Twenty-seven people were injured in the attack, including two who were airlifted to hospitals.
Strang took his own life at the school. He killed his mother Jennifer and brother Emmett at their home beforehand, CTV News reported.
The shooter was born a biological male and transitioned to female six years ago, Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed.
‘We identify the suspect as they chose to be identified in public and social media,’ Dwayne McDonald, Deputy Commissioner of British Columbia RCMP said. ‘I can say Jesse was born as a biological male who six years ago began to identify as female both socially and publicly.’
Officers were previously called to the Strang residence over concerns for the shooter’s mental health. She had been ‘apprehended for assessment’ under the mental health act in the past.
Police seized guns from the home a few years back, but returned the weapons at the request of the owner. Jennifer did not have a valid license for firearms at the time of her death.
Students are pictured outside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in Canada on Tuesday after transgender mass shooter Jesse Strang killed 10
Children were led out of the school as emergency services rushed to the building following the shooting
Juno News and Western Standard News were among the first publications to identify Strang and described the shooter as a biological male who identifies as a woman.
Liam Irving and Juan van Heerden, former Tumbler Ridge students who said she was a few grades behind them in school, described Strang as a ‘quiet kid’ who was often seen ‘sitting by himself in the corner’.
Irving told the Western Standard Strang’s mother and younger brother were well known in the Tumbler Ridge community, and ‘good friends’ of his family.
‘There’s not one person in this town right now that’s not affected by this,’ he added.
