A gunman who murdered nine people in the second deadliest school shooting in Canadian history has been named as Jesse Strang, who is reported to be transgender.
Strang, 18, opened fire in the library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon, a parent whose son attends the school told the Daily Mail. Six people were killed at the school and a seventh died en route to the hospital.
Strang took his own life at the school. He killed his mother Jennifer and brother Emmett at their home beforehand, CTV News reported.
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.
The parent, who requested to remain anonymous, said his son knew Strang’s family and played sports with one of his siblings.
His son was at the academic institution Tuesday when Strang carried out the deadly massacre. He is now ‘afraid to go back to school’, his father added.
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 named Jess.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to confirm Strang’s identity and whether he was transgender after being contacted by the Daily Mail. Authorities have only identified the shooter as a ‘female in a dress’.
Six people were killed and 25 injured at the school and an additional victim died on the way to the hospital, police said. Two more people were found dead at a nearby home believed to be connected to the deadly attack.
Sources told the Daily Mail that Strang lived at the home with three relatives.
Strang’s uncle Russell, who told Juno News she was responsible for the shooting, said the suspected shooter was ‘transgender’.
Students are pictured outside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in Canada on Tuesday after transgender mass shooter Jesse Strang killed 10
Maya Gebala was one of 27 people injured in the shooting. She was shot in the head and neck and is receiving urgent medical treatment at a hospital in Vancouver
The claim about Strang’s gender identity was echoed by fellow Tumbler Ridge Secondary School students Liam Irving and Juan van Heerden, who said Strang was a few grades behind them in school.
Strang is also believed to have used she/her pronouns on her since-deleted social media accounts.
The pair told the Western Standard that Strang was a ‘quiet kid’ who was often seen ‘sitting by himself in the corner’.
Irving said his mother works at the school and was on the floor where the shooting took place. ‘She heard pretty much all the shots,’ he added.
Irving claimed 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.
Among the at least two dozen children and teachers injured in the attack is 12-year-old Maya Gebala who is fighting for her life after being shot in the head and neck.
Maya’s family said she was hit by shrapnel during the shooting but it was unknown how she was hit and how much damage was done.
Children were led out of the school as emergency services rushed to the building following the shooting
Police said at least seven students at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School were shot dead on Tuesday afternoon, with two other people also found dead at a residence in Tumbler Ridge, before the shooter killed themselves at the school
Her mother Cia Edmonds said she was by her critically wounded daughter’s bedside after she was airlifted to Vancouver Children’s Hospital.
‘Today started as any other. Now, however, my 12-year-old daughter is fighting for her life while they try to repair the damage from a gunshot wound to the head, and one to the neck,’ she said.
‘She was a lucky one, I suppose. Condolences to the other families during this tragedy. This doesn’t even feel real.
‘I never thought I would be asking for prayers… but please, please pray for my baby.’
An emergency alert was issued to Tumbler Ridge residents around 1.20pm local time Tuesday, warning of an active shooter in the area.
An urgent lockdown alarm sounded in the hallways shortly after 1.30pm, instructing students and staff to barricade the doors.
Tumbler Ridge, a picturesque mountain valley town in the foothills of the Rockies about 736 miles north of Vancouver, has a population of 2,400.
It is described as an ‘incredibly safe community’ by town councillors.
The remote community is known for its lakes, rivers, waterfalls and hiking trails. The area earned UNESCO Global Geopark status due to the presence of hundreds of dinosaur tracks and fossils.
Maya was one of at least two-dozen children and teachers wounded when a ‘female in a dress’ opened fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School
The secondary school, which enrolls 175 students, and its elementary school, will be closed for the rest of the week.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a social media post that he was devastated by the shooting.
‘I join Canadians in grieving with those whose lives have been changed irreversibly today, and in gratitude for the courage and selflessness of the first responders who risked their lives to protect their fellow citizens,’ he wrote.
Carney’s office said he is suspending a planned trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia and Munich, Germany. He was set to announce a long-awaited defense industrial strategy in Halifax on Wednesday before heading to Europe for the Munich Security Conference.
Eby, the province’s premier, told reporters he had spoken to Carney after what he called the ‘unimaginable tragedy’.
‘I know it’s causing us all to hug our kids a little bit tighter tonight,’ he said. ‘I’m asking the people of British Columbia to look after the people of Tumbler Ridge tonight.’
