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Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026

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Updated news is giving name and other details:

We just received a lot of information regarding the shootings in Tumbler Ridge yesterday. Here's what we learned from deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Dwayne McDonald:

The suspect was named as Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, born a "biological male who approximately six years ago began to transition to female"
The updated death toll from the school stands at: one female educator, two male students and three female students
It was confirmed that the two people who had been shot in a nearby home were the suspect's mother and step-brother. The police were called to the home after they had been called to the school, by a female youth who is related to the suspect and victims
Police corrected earlier reports that a victim had died on their way to hospital
The suspect also died from what police believe was a self-inflicted wound
Two firearms were found at the school - one long gun and a modified handgun
Van Rootselaar dropped out of school four years ago. When asked if the suspect faced bullying "because of the transition from male to female", McDonald says there's no suggestion of this
Police had attended the suspect's family home on multiple occasions over several years, dealing with mental health concerns of the suspect. Some interactions concerned weapon
Those found dead in Tumbler Ridge Secondary School were an 39-year-old female educator, three female students, all aged 12, and two male students, aged 12 and 13

So the nine dead are the teacher, five pupils, mother and step-brother, and the shooter.