VICTORIA — An 18-year-old woman has been named as the suspect in a shooting that killed eight people and wounded dozens more in the tiny mountain town of Tumbler Ridge in British Columbia, Canada, on Tuesday.Jesse Van Rootselaar, who had dropped out of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School four years ago, was found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot injury, police said.They say they still don’t know the motive of the suspected shooter, but had previously dealt with them over mental health concerns.Flags across Canada were lowered to half-staff on Wednesday, and Prime Minister Mark Carney and other national political figures paid their respects in Parliament with speeches and a moment of silence. British Columbia has declared Thursday a day of mourning.Hundreds of mourners gathered to exchange comfort and moments of silence in Tumbler Ridge’s main square and outside the British Columbia legislature in Vancouver on Wednesday night.”Schools should be safe,” said Tumbler Ridge vigil attendee Gigi Rejano said, according to the AFP news agency, while others cried nearby and pictures of victims were laid near a tree.In Vancouver, speaker of the legislature Raj Chouhan said, “We can only pray together, hold hands together and send our love to all those people”, according to a local journalist.Six people were killed and at least 25 others were injured at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Two others — the suspect’s mother, 39, and step-brother, 11 —were found dead at a nearby home.The shooting at the nearby home occurred first, then the suspect went to the school, McDonald said.The victims at the school were a 39-year-old female educator, three female students, all aged 12, and two male students, one aged 12 and the other 13.Authorities do not believe there are other suspects involved in the shootings.Police said they had attended the suspect’s family home on multiple occasions over the past several years, with some calls related to mental health concerns.Authorities said Van Rootselaar was born a biological male but identified as a woman.Van Rootselaar was known to police, and “we’ve begun the process of reaching out to” the public health care system to “understand what interactions may have taken place,” British Columbia Premier David Eby told a news conference outside the Tumbler Ridge town hall late on Wednesday evening.The suspect previously had a valid gun licence that had since lapsed, McDonald said.Within minutes they located the shooter, who died from what police say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.Authorities found two firearms — a long gun and a modified handgun — on the scene. But McDonald said it remains unclear the exact roles the firearms played in the shooting.Tumbler Ridge has about 2,400 residents, and its secondary school has 160 students in Grades 7-12. — Agencies
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