Canada school shooter may have been looking to ‘finish off’ family by hunting younger siblings at school: witness

The teenager who carried out a mass shooting in British Columbia, Canada, may have intended to “finish off” her siblings, a witness said.

On Tuesday, the suspect, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, allegedly shot her mother and step-brother before entering a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, a small mining town at the base of the Rocky Mountains.

Inside the school, Van Rootselaar — who was transgender and used she/her pronouns, police said — allegedly opened fire, killing five students and a teacher before taking her own life.

Duncan McKay, a 17-year-old, was inside the school when he took cover after hearing shots ring out, he told The Telegraph. McKay didn’t personally know the suspect, but noted that Van Rootselaar’s younger brother and sister were fellow students — and that the brother was in school when gunfire erupted.

“I am positive he went to finish off his family,” he said, referring to the suspect.

Another Tumbler Ridge resident reported hearing the same claims, though they could not corroborate them, the newspaper reported.

Canadian police, however, have yet to reveal what spurred the attack.

“We don’t have an idea yet as to motive,” Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said at a press conference on Wednesday. “It is something that we are certainly passionately pursuing, but it would be too early to speculate on motive at this time.”

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There is no indication that Van Rootselaar had been bullied, he said, noting that she dropped out of school in Tumbler Ridge four years ago.

Police described the suspect as “a very quiet child” who didn’t have “much enthusiasm for anything,” according to the CBC.

Prior to the attack, Van Rootselaar had been visited by police several times in recent years due to mental health issues and she used to have a firearm license, officials said.

The victims at the school were not Van Rootselaar’s relatives. On Thursday, police identified those killed at the school as Abel Mwansa, 12, Kylie Smith, 12, Ezekiel Schofield, 13, Zoey Benoit, 12, Ticaria Lampert, 12 and teacher Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39. Two other children were left injured with gunshot wounds.

Families of the victims have issued emotional statements, recounting memories of their loved ones.

“Seeing your child murdered at this age is heartbreaking,” the father of one of the victims wrote in a Facebook post yesterday. “I was broken when I saw you packed in that BLACK BAG lifeless and zipped up like those we see in movies…”

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“Seeing you leave the house with that beautiful smile while going to Tumbler Ridge High School was so refreshing,” he added. “I saw a bright future, a leader an engineer also a scientist in you.”

The mother of one of the hospitalized victims said in a post on Thursday that her daughter — who was shot in the head — showed signs of improvement.

“Keep up the positive vibes…We need to know this isn’t it,” she wrote in a Facebook post, adding “Fight hard baby.”

Officials in British Columbia declared yesterday a day of mourning across the province, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to visit the remote town of Tumbler Ridge Friday.

“Parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love,” Carney told reporters in an emotional moment. “The nation mourns with you. Canada stands by you.”