Before Opening Fire at Canada School, Shooter Killed Her Mom and Stepbrother at Home

Before Opening Fire at Canada School, Shooter Killed Her Mom and Stepbrother at Home https://ift.tt/d58jgYN

The 18-year-old suspect then traveled to a nearby school, where she killed six others in one of the deadliest attacks in Canadian history

Emmett Jacobs; Jennifer Jacobs

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

NEED TO KNOW

• Canadian authorities say the 18-year-old suspect in Tuesday's deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shot and killed her mother and stepbrother at home before carrying out a second shooting at a nearby school
• Six more people, including five students, were killed at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School
• The suspect then fatally shot herself before responding officers could reach her at the mass shooting's second location

Chilling details about Tuesday’s shooting have continued to emerge this week as authorities in British Columbia, Canada, provide more information about the timeline of the multi-site mass shooting that killed nine people and injured 25 more in the small town of Tumbler Ridge.

Officials with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told reporters at several emotional news conferences this week that it’s believed the 18-year-old suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar, first shot and killed two family members at their home before traveling to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and killing six more people before killing herself as police arrived.

In a news release Thursday night, the RCMP identified the shooter’s deceased family members as 39-year-old mother Jennifer Jacobs and 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs, who was Van Rootselaar’s stepbrother.

“The BC RCMP offers sincere condolences to the families who have lost loved ones, and to the entire Tumbler Ridge community that is grieving alongside them,” Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said in a statement alongside the news release. “This is a time of deep sorrow, and many are still processing the weight of this tragedy. We will continue to support the families, respect their wishes, and walk with the community as it begins the long journey toward healing.”

Emmett Jacobs

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The shooting — one of the deadliest in the history of Canada, a nation with strict gun laws — left the Tumbler Ridge community and Canadians across the country shocked this week, as more information has been released about the overwhelmingly young victims.

Four 12-year-old students and a 13-year-old student were among those killed at the school, while a 39-year-old educator was also killed during the mass shooting – the deadliest attack on Canadian soil since April 2020.

“Everything feels so surreal,” Peter Schofield, the grandfather of 13-year-old victim Ezekiel Schofield, wrote on Facebook this week as he publicly processed his grandchild’s murder. “The tears just keep flowing. So many young lives were ended so needlessly. Our hearts are broken not only for Eziekiel, but for every family affected by this tragedy.”

Jennifer Jacobs

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Leaders around the world, including Kate Middleton and Prince William, expressed shock at Tuesday’s shooting.

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Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka said he “broke down” after first hearing news about the shooting Tuesday afternoon.

“I have lived here for 18 years,” the mayor said, according to the Associated Press. “I probably know every one of the victims.”

Investigators have yet to release a motive for the shootings, while one local officer told the CBC authorities may “struggle” to ever understand what motivated the deadly attack.