Nearly 50 years ago, Anne McGrath was a 17-year-old student at St. Pius X High School in Ottawa when a fellow student entered a classroom with a sawed-off shotgun and opened fire.

Today, McGrath is a longtime political strategist and deputy chief of staff to former Alberta premier Rachel Notley, as well as a former national director of the NDP.

But this week, as Tumbler Ridge mourns its own mass shooting, she says she has felt like that teenager again.

“Whenever there is something like this that happens, and it happens all too often now, actually, it brings up a lot of memories that are hard to deal with,” she said in an interview Sunday with Global News. “So it’s definitely been a rough week.”

She was in the classroom next door when the shooting unfolded. At 17, she didn’t understand what was happening.

“I thought maybe a war had broken out,” she said. “I had no idea if there was one shooter or several or if people were shooting from the outside.”

McGrath described the 1975 shooting as one of the first of its kind in Canada. She said a classmate had raped and killed another former classmate earlier that day before riding to the school, kicking open the classroom door and opening fire. The spree ended when he turned the gun on himself.

Students returned to school the very next day.

“When it happened to us … we went back to school the next day,” McGrath said. “The messages were to kind of move on, to put it behind you, to not dwell on it.”

There was no lockdown protocol, no widespread trauma response and no immediate counselling support, she said. Students were expected to carry on, even as they were severely traumatized. One injured student later died in hospital weeks after the shooting.

Watching what is happening now in Tumbler Ridge – counsellors brought into schools, the building temporarily closed, public officials acknowledging trauma – McGrath says the contrast is striking.

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“When I look at what happens now, I look at Tumbler Ridge … I see counsellors being brought in, I see the community,” she said. “It’s just completely different … than it was back 50 years ago.”

Still, she says, the long-term impact of surviving a shooting does not disappear.

“It comes up in waves when something like this happens, for sure.”

McGrath was also present during the 2014 Parliament Hill shooting and says people who experience violence often carry lasting reactions.

“You do have this experience … where you have a kind of a reaction to things like a car backfiring or a door being slammed,” she said. “I either overreact … or I completely don’t react.”

McGrath says the focus now should be on giving students space to grieve.

“I think the main thing is to take the time … to process it and to be compassionate with yourself and the people around you,” she said.

“There will be some students who want to talk about it all the time. There will be others who only want to talk to certain people. There will be others who won’t want to talk about it at all. You have to be generous … with yourself and with the people around you.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Police have said the teenage shooter who killed eight people and herself in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., had previously been apprehended under the Mental Health Act.

In a Wednesday press conference, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said police had previously visited the home where Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, lived, and that she had been apprehended under the act on multiple occasions.

Here’s what you need to know about the act.

THE FRAMEWORK

Each province has a mental health act, which is designed to outline a legal framework of what should happen when a person with a mental illness needs treatment and protection for themselves or others.

Jonathan Morris, chief executive officer of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s B.C. division, says the law permits police to apprehend and transport a person to a hospital or mental health facility for an assessment.

He said they can then be involuntarily admitted for treatment if a doctor deems it necessary, which means the patient cannot leave on their own terms.

There are criteria for involuntary admission: if a mental illness “seriously impairs someone’s ability to function”; if there’s a risk of deterioration or harm; if they require some form of psychiatric treatment; and if they are unwilling to be treated, Morris said.

A doctor or nurse must complete a certificate, which grants them the right to hold that person for up to 48 hours, to assess the patient and determine if it’s safe for them to be discharged or not.

Morris, who is not privy to information about the suspect in Tumbler Ridge and was speaking generally about the act, said any patient should be comprehensively assessed and a plan should be established before they are discharged.

“I don’t know what happened in this case, but sometimes there can be, more often than not, gaps along that journey, right? People might not leave with a full picture of a diagnosis, for example,” he said.

The Canadian Press requested additional information from the province’s Health Ministry on the suspect’s mental health treatment.

The ministry said the RCMP will make decisions about what information will be released, and if key issues aren’t answered through the investigation, the government will consider measures to provide further answers.

HOW LONG CAN A PATIENT BE HELD? 

If a doctor determines a patient needs further treatment after 48 hours, they will complete a second certificate, which allows them to detain the person for another month.

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The health provider can keep renewing that certificate if they think the patient needs further treatment.

“The certificates are the legal documentation that are supporting the decision to suspend, take away someone’s ability to freely leave the hospital, and also be subject to involuntary treatment,” Morris said.

“Under our law there’s no limit on total duration. The detention can be indefinite, but it needs to be supported by those renewals.”

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO TUMBLER RIDGE SHOOTING?

McDonald said Van Rootselaar had previously been apprehended under the provincial Mental Health Act on different occasions for assessment and followup. He said she was hospitalized “in some circumstances.”

He also said police had seized weapons from the home, which were later returned, and that Van Rootselaar had dropped out of school about four years ago.

When patients are discharged without a robust treatment plan, Morris said that can lead to re-admission.

“We also have seen, again, across the province, and I think this happens not just in B.C., people who repeatedly meet the criteria for an involuntary admission and are kind of repeatedly admitted and then there’s a discharge and then admitted again. That’s definitely something to pay attention to.”

He said the overlap between firearm and mental health laws will need to be thoroughly examined in the wake of this tragedy.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

The Tumbler Ridge RCMP detachment has only five members.

“At the time of the incident, there was two members that were working and two members that were off duty, not working that day, and one was out of the community,” Jeff Swann, the national policing federation Pacific region director for the RCMP, told Global News.

On Tuesday afternoon, a call came in reporting an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

“What they did was heroic,” Swann said.

“The two members that got the call went way above and beyond duty and they protected and saved Canadian lives and children, without a doubt. They were at the school within 120 seconds of the call.

“They immediately responded, running into the school while there was gunfire happening.”

Swann said the officers “ran into gunfire” and did not hesitate.

“Immediately upon entering the school, they were shot at and they didn’t stop,” he said.

“They did everything they needed to do, that police presence, that intervention. They saved lives and the nearest backup immediately responded, except they’re, you know, a long drive away.”

Swann said RCMP officers from Fort St. John, Chetwynd and Dawson Creek responded to calls for help and the two off-duty Tumbler Ridge members were called in.

“What met them was just absolutely horrific,” he said.

Eight people were shot and killed when a person opened fire at a home and at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday.

The victims have been identified as five students, an education assistant, the shooter’s mother, stepbrother and the shooter herself.

The students included 12-year-old Kylie May Smith, 12-year-old Ticaria Lampert, 12-year-old Zoey Benoit, 39-year-old education assistant Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 12-year-old Abel Mwansa, 12-year-old Ezekiel Schofield, 39-year-old Jennifer Strang (Jacobs) and 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs.

Swann said that one of the responding officers was at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School earlier that day, before the shooting happened.

“I can just tell you that these officers were fired upon and they didn’t stop,” he said.

“They continued to, every possible thing that they could do to protect those students and that school was done. They saved lives, they were heroes and I know speaking to them they don’t want that term.

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“They are devastated. They are community members. They knew everybody in that school. They attended that school almost daily.”

More than a dozen paramedics were also called to Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday.

“I believe there is one full-time unit up there,” Ian Tait, communications and social media director for the Ambulance Paramedics of BC, said.

“I just don’t know what else was staffed that day. I know at least three air resources were brought up, as well with multiple members on them. And then other ambulances came in as well to help with the workload because obviously, understandably, it was a challenging, horrible day.”

Tait said everyone is being offered support and any resources they need at this time.

“This is not something that usually just goes away after a shift or two, or that you can just kind of pick up the pieces,” he said.

“This is one of those horrible, tragic events that paramedics and other first responders have to deal with when it happens. And the implications of it can be a lifetime in the making.”

The BC RCMP has launched an online portal to streamline the collection of additional evidence.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., has sparked questions about Canada’s firearm seizure regulations and so-called “red flag” laws that allow the removal of guns in a case of mental health concerns.

The RCMP has provided few details so far about the firearms used in the shooting and how the shooter, identified by RCMP as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, acquired them.

Officials said Wednesday that firearms were seized from the family home “a couple of years ago” but were later returned after a successful court petition to get them back.

It is not yet clear if those firearms included the ones used in Tuesday’s shooting, which RCMP confirmed were a long gun and a modified handgun.

“Police have attended that residence in the past, approximately a couple years ago, where firearms were seized under the Criminal Code,” Dep. Comm. Dwayne McDonald, the B.C. RCMP commanding officer, said in a media briefing.

“I can say that at a later point in time, the lawful owner of those firearms petitioned for those firearms to be returned, and they were.”

McDonald added that the shooter had a firearms licence that expired “I believe” in 2024 and did not have any firearms currently registered. He also said the shooter had a history of mental health issues and was known to police.

“Police had attended that residence on multiple occasions over the past several years, dealing with concerns of mental health with respect to our suspect,” he said.

“I can say that on different occasions the suspect was apprehended for assessment and follow-up” under B.C.’s Mental Health Act, he added, and had been taken to hospital “in some circumstances.”

B.C. Premier David Eby told reporters Wednesday evening he had “a lot of questions” when asked about the seizure and return of firearms from the home.

“I know the people of Tumbler Ridge have a lot of questions. I’m sure the families have a lot of questions,” he said.

Section 117.04 of the Criminal Code allows for the seizure of firearms by a peace officer, even without a warrant, if there are “reasonable grounds” to believe a person poses a safety risk to themselves or others by possessing those firearms.

If any firearms, weapons or firearms licences are seized, a judge will have to review the evidence behind the seizure at a hearing within 30 days. The judge will then determine whether the items should be forfeited or destroyed, or issue a prohibition order that forbids the person in question from possession for up to five years.

The previous Liberal government in 2023 passed Bill C-21, which updated Canada’s “red flag” laws to allow anyone — including civilians, such as a family member — to apply to a court for an emergency prohibition order if there is a safety concern. The applicant must prove with evidence that a person poses a risk to themself or anyone else.

That order, if issued by a judge, directs the removal of the person’s firearms, firearm licence and any other weapons for up to 30 days. A hearing may also be set to determine if a longer-term prohibition of up to five years should be issued.

An application can also be made for an emergency limitations on access order, which would direct a person living with someone under a prohibition order to store their firearms in another location for up to 30 days. A longer-term order may also be considered in these cases.

Firearms may also be seized if police determine firearms are being improperly stored, or if an unlicensed member of a household has access to a gun safe in the home, among “so many other factors,” lawyers and firearms instructors told Global News.

“If there’s a continued safety concern, the police can intervene once again,” said Rob Dhanu, a defence lawyer and former federal Crown prosecutor based in Abbotsford, B.C.

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“It’s all about balancing … public safety concerns with the individual rights of Canadian citizens.”

Prohibition orders can be appealed under the Criminal Code, which requires a hearing where the person must prove there is no longer a danger posed by themself or someone else in the home.

In a mental health scenario, the firearms may be returned if “you can prove that … the individual is now medicated properly and there haven’t been any incidents or events for the last couple of years,” said Dan Jones, who chairs the justice studies program at NorQuest College in Edmonton and is a retired 25-year veteran of the Edmonton Police Service.

“The other one would be potentially if the person who owned the firearms and the person who had the issues around mental health … no longer lived at that address. That’s another way to get them back…. So it’s dependent upon the situation. Every situation is going to have a little bit of a difference, but also they’re going to have some similarities when it comes to ensuring the safety of the individual, to people in the home, and people in public.”

However, lawyers say judges are very cautious when it comes to mental health cases because it can be difficult to predict how people will behave in the future.

“In my experience, it’s very rare for somebody to get the firearms back, regardless of where they were seized,” said Jerry Steele, a Vancouver-based defence lawyer who has experience arguing weapons cases.

“Particularly in youth cases, it’s very, very rare to see those firearms return.”

B.C. MLA Elenore Sturko, an independent who previously served as an RCMP officer, told reporters Thursday she has questions about why the firearms were returned to the home of the Tumbler Ridge shooter.

“It is someone’s legal right to make an application to have those firearms returned,” she said. “So for what reason they were returned, what arguments were made, who those firearms belong to and whether or not they were the firearms used in the commission of this horrible attack, those are questions that need to be answered.”

Sturko added that the confirmation of multiple mental health interventions by police may require B.C. Attorney General Nikki Sharma to seek changes to the Criminal Code, particularly Section 117.04.

“If this is a law that needs changing and we need to toughen up the ability for someone who potentially poses a risk to have firearms returned to their home, she needs to go to Ottawa and have this law toughened up,” she said.

Jones, however, said it’s difficult to see where the law could be strengthened further.

“You can never 100 per cent say something is not going to go wrong, and I think that’s [true] in any situation where there are firearms in a home,” he said.

“There is always potential, right? Because firearms are firearms. And that is why we have strict firearms laws.”

— with files from Global’s Jillian Piper and Rumina Daya

The mother of a 12-year-old girl killed in the school shooting in Tumbler Ridge says her family is struggling to comprehend the loss as the small northern B.C. community mourns the victims.

Sarah Lampert spoke to reporters Thursday about her daughter, Ticaria, who was among eight people killed in the attack that also left the shooter dead and dozens injured.

“We now have to figure out how to live life without her, and there’s nothing and no one that can fill that gap,” Lampert said. “Our family is shattered, and it is going to take immense amounts of time to get through this.”

Lampert, a single mother of eight children, described her household as deeply interconnected. “I’m a single mom and every single one of us matter in my family. Our truth is that we have learned to become a functioning cell together. Every one of us mattered. Her absence in our family is not going to go unnoticed,” she said, fighting back tears.

Lampert described her daughter as a larger-than-life presence in their home. “She was a blazing light in the darkness. If you didn’t see her, you definitely heard her,” she said, adding that her daughter “just wanted to bring sunshine to everyone and everything she ever touched.”

“She loved her family fiercely … her friends were her everything,” her mother said.

Lampert said everyday routines now serve as painful reminders of her daughter’s absence.

“Simple things like going and getting in the van and turning around and not having a full head count is going to be hard. Everything is hard right now.”

Ticaria, known to family and friends as Tiki, is being remembered as a vibrant and loving child.

“Ticaria (Tiki) was such a loving, courageous, humorous, one-of-a-kind kiddo and her life was cut short at only 12 years of age,” reads a GoFundMe page set up by a Tumbler Ridge resident to support the family with funeral expenses.

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The page says Lampert “could use some help with funeral costs to lay her baby girl to rest the way Tiki deserves,” adding that Ticaria “left behind seven other siblings and a mother who loved her so much.”

Lampert thanked the community and addressed her loved ones. “To my family and my friends and everybody else, just know that I am going to get there. We are going to get there,” she said.

“This has been the hardest pill to swallow. I still am in disbelief. To accept that my daughter is gone is impossible. I don’t know what else to say. Thank you everyone.”

A community vigil is scheduled for Friday. Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to attend as residents gather to honour the victims.

–with files from Amy Judd and Uday Rana

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The father of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooter has issued a statement following the deadly mass shooting that rocked the small community this week.

“There are moments when words feel far too small for the sorrow we are carrying together. What has happened has left an ache in the heart of our town that will not soon fade. In a place where we know each other by name, where we pass one another in the grocery store and gather at the same community events, this loss feels deeply personal to us all,” Justin VanRootselaar said.

“To the families who have lost loved ones, and to every person who has been affected by this senseless and unforgivable act of violence, I offer my most heartfelt condolences. I cannot begin to imagine the depth of your grief. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and that I share in the profound sadness that has settled over our community.

“As the biological father of the individual responsible, I carry a sorrow that is difficult to put into words. I was estranged from Jesse Strang and was not part of his life. His mother declined my involvement from the beginning, and I was not given the opportunity to be a part of raising him. Jesse did not use the VanRootselaar family name at any point in his life. While that distance is the reality of our relationship, it does not lessen the heartbreak I feel for the pain that has been caused to innocent people and to the town we call home.

“This is a time for compassion, for holding one another close, and for supporting the families who are grieving such unimaginable loss.

“As we respect your grief, we respectfully ask that you also respect ours. There will be no further statements.”

This statement comes as more information is coming to light about the 18-year-old shooter.

BC RCMP confirmed that multiple police visits had been made to the 18-year-old Jesse VanRootselaar’s home due to concerns of mental health and self-harm.

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Dept. Comm. Dwayne McDonald, BC RCMP commanding officer, said the teen also had some interactions with police.

“Police have attended that residence in the past, approximately a couple of years ago, where firearms were seized under the criminal code,” he said.

“I can say that at a later point in time, the lawful owner of those firearms petitioned for those firearms to be returned and they were.”

It is not known who owned the guns, why they were seized and why they were returned.

Criminal lawyer Jerry Steele said that Canada’s new Red Flag law, passed in 2023, allows anyone, not just police, to apply to a judge for a temporary 30-day prohibition order to remove firearms from someone who poses a risk.

“The idea that someone else in a house could be the problem rather than the firearms owner themselves, that concern is relatively new and I haven’t seen that tested,” Steele said.

Van Rootselaar, who was assigned male at birth but had started transitioning to a female, dropped out of school roughly four years ago, Global News has learned.

The teen had a gun license, which expired in 2024. A long gun and a modified handgun were found at the crime scene in Tumbler Ridge following the shooting on Feb. 10.

It is unknown if these were the guns that were seized from the family home and returned.

-with files from Rumina Daya

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Following Tuesday’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., local MP Bob Zimmer says the community is full of “tough individuals” but that anyone who needs help should know mental health support is available after a tragedy that’s “tough to process.”

Eight people were killed in the tight-knit community of about 2,500 people, including five students and a teacher at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, as well as two others at a nearby residence. Roughly 25 others were injured.

The shooter also died from what RCMP believe was a self-inflicted injury.

Messages of support have poured in from across the globe since the tragedy, including from Canadian and other world leaders. Zimmer spoke with Global News on Thursday from Tumbler Ridge.

“There’s been countless offers from across the country to help and there’s been so many that it’s just difficult to manage all that information. You’re talking about a little community of about 2,500 people, and all of a sudden the whole, it seems, world is saying, ‘How can we help?’” said Zimmer, who is the Conservative MP for Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies.

“It’s very personal at the same time and very difficult because it’s such a terrible and tragic event that’s tough to process.”

Flags are also being flown at half-mast, including at all federal government buildings for seven days.

Mental health resources are being provided for community members, and BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver have sent a team of youth mental health supports.

Zimmer says Tumbler Ridge community members are resilient, and one of the challenges is to get them the help they may need.

“The difficulty, though, is sometimes we can be tough individuals, especially in a place like Tumbler Ridge. It’s … a rural place. And it’s just that kind of place where we’re used to being in a tougher environment,” says Zimmer.

“That’s the challenge is to get them to the help that they need, and first of all, understand that they need some help and just go talk and work some of this stuff out. It’ll help.”

Zimmer also said he is co-ordinating with B.C. Premier David Eby, as well as Prime Minister Mark Carney, to ensure the community has enough long-term mental health supports.

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Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed they will travel to visit Tumbler Ridge on Friday and plan to attend a vigil honouring victims of the mass shooting.

“Just to make the effort to come out here is very much appreciated by I know myself, as a local leader, and all of us here in Tumbler Ridge,” said Zimmer.

“I just appreciated even the conversation with the prime minister and Pierre [Poilievre] over the last couple of days, which is very heartfelt and very sincere.”

Tumbler Ridge is also not unlike many other small communities in Canada, where “everybody knows everybody,” which Zimmer says makes this tragedy something that the whole town feels together.

“It’s such a small, tight-knit community, and Tumbler Ridge isn’t a place that you even drive by on the highway going from here to there. It’s a place you have to deliberately go. So people that are here, they all want to be here, and they’re all sort of part of the same community. The mayor is the owner of the local grocery store. Everybody knows everybody,” says Zimmer.

“So it’s just a little bit more personal that these people that you were, you know, even more close to than you would perhaps be if you’re in a big city, it’s even more sort of gut-wrenching and tearing that these individuals are so close to you and now they’re lost.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

In the aftermath of a devastating shooting spree that left six children and two adults dead in the small northern B.C. town, schools in at least three communities across Alberta have dealt with firearms reports that turned out to be false, while a fourth had a man acting erratically while in possession of a toy gun.

Mounties in Alberta have seen an uptick in calls about reports of firearm sightings, which RCMP Corp. Mathew Howell said was expected.

“It’s something we’ve noticed with a lot of traumatic events in the past,” Howell said on Thursday.

“That will, in a lot of people, spike that fight-or-flight response and that vigilance.”

RCMP said people become more aware after incidents like this week’s school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, and police encourage citizens to trust their gut and call 911 if something seems off.

“Even if, in the end, it turns out there was no incident or it turns out there was no firearm or whatever the case may be — it’s always better to call it in and to be sure than to brush it off.”

In light of the tragedy in B.C., Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said school boards will be asked to audit their security measures.

“At the same time I’ll also be conducting an audit of provincial standards with respect to security measures, to make sure that we have adequate minimum standards for our school divisions and evaluate whether those minimum standards need to be elevated or updated,” Nicolaides said.

High River

The latest happened Thursday in southern Alberta. RCMP in High River received a report around 10:30 a.m. from École Secondaire Highwood High of a threat received at the school.

An unknown person called and said that someone would be going to the school with firearms, police said.

The school was placed in a hold and secure while it was searched by staff and police officers, whom the RCMP said arrived within two minutes of receiving the call.

During a hold and secure, exterior doors are locked so people can’t move in and out of the building, but operations inside carry on as normal.

The hold and secure was lifted by the noon hour, RCMP said, adding officers would remain on site for the rest of the day.

The incident came as Foothills School Division has lowered its flags until next week out of respect for the community of Tumbler Ridge.

“We are profoundly saddened by the tragic events that unfolded,” said a joint statement by superintendent Chris Fuzessy and board chair Theresa Letendre.

“Schools are places of safety, connection, and belonging. When violence touches a school community, it reverberates far beyond its walls.”

Fort McMurray

Thursday’s gun incident south of Calgary comes after two other Alberta communities also dealt with similar scenarios on Wednesday.

Wood Buffalo RCMP in Fort McMurray received a call around 2:42 p.m. stating that a student had brought a firearm to school.

Fort McMurray Public Schools said Frank Spragins High School briefly transitioned into a lockdown while officers from multiple RCMP departments converged upon the building.

Upon arrival, Mounties said they found a suspect, who was taken into custody, but no firearm was located.

“In light of the events in Tumbler Ridge, we understand that reports of this nature may cause heightened concern for students, families, and staff,” Fort McMurray Public Schools Superintendent Annalee Nutter said in a memo posted to school’s website.

“Please know that we approach situations like this with seriousness, care, and a strong commitment to safety.”

The  division acknowledged even when situations are resolved safely, they can create stress or anxiety, so a support team was made available on Thursday for students and staff.

“We will review our response, as we do after any incident, and address any areas for improvement if needed. We are committed to transparency and to responding directly and responsibly to concerns.”

Sherwood Park

The third incident this week happened in the Edmonton region, just east of the city at a high school and junior high in Sherwood Park.

Just before 10 a.m. Wednesday, Strathcona County RCMP said it received a report of a person with a possible firearm in their pocket at the Strathcona Athletic Park in Sherwood Park.

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The nearby Bev Facey Community High was put on lockdown while F.R. Haythorne Junior High was placed in a hold and secure.

Police said they quickly responded to the park and searched the area.

RCMP said they found the purported suspect and confirmed the man didn’t have a gun and no offences were committed.

The status of the schools were lifted over the noon hour.

On Thursday, Strathcona County’s public school division, Elk Island Public Schools, issued a statement of condolence for Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

“The recent shootings at Tumbler Ridge Secondary have deeply shocked and saddened all of us,” said EIPS board chair Colleen Holowaychuck.

“Our thoughts are with students, staff and families who are now navigating this devastating tragedy.”

Elk Island said all its schools and head office have also lowered their flags to honour those lost in the school shooting.

Edson

The fourth incident in which a person did have a replica gun occurred Tuesday in western Alberta.

RCMP said officers from Edson, about 1.5 hours west of Edmonton, were called on Tuesday about a man reportedly acting strangely outside Mary Bergeron School.

“The call came in as a cap gun and not a real firearm,” said RCMP Corp. Mathew Howell. “That being said, when it comes to police response, police response is always the same. We err on the side of caution and public safety is always a priority.”

Police said the man was seen throwing beef jerky and yelling bible verses at students. While the situation sounds laughable, RCMP said it still counts as violent behaviour.

“Yes, we’re talk about beef jerky, but technically throwing an item at someone is technically considered assault, so he was technically assaulting kids and then pulled out what turned out to be an imitation firearm.”

Investigators allege when the principal approached, the man pulled out the cap gun and fired three shots in their direction before leaving in a car.

Police said the man randomly showed up at the school and no student witnessed the cap gun incident.

Officers tracked down the vehicle, which took off heading west down the Yellowhead Highway and was pursued by several police units, including a canine team and air services.

After traveling a long distance on Highway 16 west to Hinton, RCMP said the vehicle turned off onto secondary roads north of the highway and ended up stopping on a private farm east of Hinton.

The man got out of the vehicle and was arrested without incident.

A 39-year-old man from Dawson Creek, B.C., was charged with mischief, dangerous driving, fleeing from police and imitation firearm charges.

— With files The Canadian Press

The community of Tumbler Ridge continues to mourn after a mass shooting took the lives of eight people and injured more than two dozen others on Tuesday.

Premier David Eby arrived at the northern B.C. town, where a vigil attended by community members and several officials was held on Wednesday night.

“I can tell you that this is an incredibly strong community,” Eby told reporters. “It’s also a community that’s clearly in shock. The full extent of what has happened has not sunk in.”

Fighting back emotions, Eby recalled that at the vigil people were asked to have a moment of silence and pray for the families who have lost loved ones, as well as for a girl who is in hospital fighting for her life after the shooting.

“That moment for me is representative of the profound tragedy,” he said.

“A beautiful child who went to school, is full of joy and love, who’s clinging to life in a hospital right now and the other children who have died. For the parents, for the families, for the people of Tumbler Ridge … we’ll pray for you in whatever way we pray and know that that’s happening across Canada and around the world.”

On Tuesday afternoon, a shooter opened fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, killing a female teacher and five students — three girls aged 12 and two boys aged 12 and 13.

Alongside the six victims from the school, two others were shot and killed at a separate location before the school shooting — the shooter’s 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old brother or stepbrother.

The shooter, identified by RCMP as 18-year-old female Jesse Van Rootselaar, died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The RCMP said they believe the shooter acted alone.

The shooting left two other people with serious or life-threatening injuries. They were airlifted to hospital. Approximately 25 others were assessed and triaged at the local medical centre for non‑life‑threatening injuries.

Gary Anandasangaree, Canada’s federal public safety minister, said he is heartbroken with the community of Tumble Ridge.

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“As we mourn the senseless death of so many young people, what we can do here as a federal government is to support the local community, to support the mayor, to support the families, to support the first responders, to support the teachers and to ensure that we’re with them every step of the way,” Anandasangaree said. “As families are unable to put their kids to sleep tonight, there’s no words that I can say that will bring their children back.”

Mayor Darryl Krakowka thanked the premier and ministers for coming to Tumbler Ridge as “boots on the ground” to connect with the community and provide mental health supports and counsellors for families, students and staff who are grieving.

“It is so important when we see a tragedy like this, with young lives lost, families don’t have their children coming home last night. I think it was really, really important to see that, and I thank the government,” Krakowka said with emotion as Eby placed a hand on his back.

“Our community … we’re one big family,” Krakowka said.

— With files from Global News’ Amy Judd

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit the community of Tumbler Ridge “shortly,” his office says, after the British Columbia community was devastated by a mass shooting Tuesday that killed eight people, as well as the shooter, and injured dozens of others.

“The Prime Minister will be visiting Tumbler Ridge shortly in support of the community,” the Prime Minister’s Office told Global News.

“The Prime Minister’s Office is working closely with the community and local authorities to finalise details based on their own immediate needs.”

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree and Housing Minister Gregor Robertson are in the community already, joined by B.C. Premier David Eby, Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka and B.C. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger.

The ministers were in the remote mining town “to offer any assistance needed from the federal government in the aftermath of the devastating shooting in Tumbler Ridge.”

“Too many innocent lives taken from their families too soon. To the Tumbler Ridge community: we mourn with you and we stand with you,” Anandasangaree said.

Roberston, a B.C. MP, said he was “heartbroken” by the tragedy.

“This is an extraordinary community. We have witnessed remarkable compassion and care by every person we’ve met,” he said.

Carney announced Wednesday that Canadian flags will be flown at half-mast for seven days on federal buildings following the mass school shooting.

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In Toronto, the iconic CN Tower went dark on Wednesday at the top of every hour to mark the tragedy.

“Tonight the #CNTower will dim for 5 minutes at the top of each hour in honour of the victims of the attack in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia,” the CN Tower’s official social media account posted on Wednesday.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon offered her condolences to the families of the victims.

“In this unimaginable moment of tragedy, the whole of Canada has Tumbler Ridge in its thoughts. Let us stay united in our compassion and reach out to one another with love and tenderness today, as we join the entire nation in grieving,” Simon said in a statement.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called the shooting a “senseless act of violence.”

“I can’t even imagine the phone calls that parents might have received. I can’t imagine the heartache and hell that they’re living through at this moment. This is a time for all Canadians to unite, to support the families and the community at large. We’ll be in touch with the Prime Minister and the other parties later today to offer all of our support.” Poilievre said on Wednesday.

— with a file from Global News’ Bryan Mullan

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.