Canada
\nAn 18-year-old has been named as the suspect in a shooting that killed eight people and injured dozens more in British Columbia, Canada.
\nPolice said Jesse Van Rootselaar was found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot injury. The motive for the attack is not yet known.
\nSix people were killed and at least 25 others were injured at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Two others – the suspect\u2019s mother, 39, and step-brother, 11 – were found dead at a nearby home.
\nHundreds of mourners gathered to exchange comfort and moments of silence in Tumbler Ridge\u2019s main square and outside the British Columbia legislature in Victoria on Wednesday night.
\n\u201cSchools should be safe,\u201d 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.
\nIn Victoria, speaker of the legislature Raj Chouhan said, \u201cWe can only pray together, hold hands together and send our love to all those people\u201d, according to a local journalist.
\nThe shooting at the nearby home occurred first, then the suspect went to the school, McDonald said.
\nThe 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.
\nAuthorities do not believe there are other suspects involved in the shootings.
\nPolice said they had attended the suspect\u2019s family home on multiple occasions over the past several years, with some calls related to mental health concerns.
\nAuthorities said Van Rootselaar was born a biological male but identified as a woman.
\n\u201cI can say that Jesse was born as a biological male who approximately six years ago began to transition to female,\u201d Dwayne McDonald, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) deputy commissioner, said.
\nVan Rootselaar was known to police, and \u201cwe\u2019ve begun the process of reaching out to\u201d the public health care system to \u201cunderstand what interactions may have taken place,\u201d British Columbia Premier David Eby told a news conference outside the Tumbler Ridge town hall late on Wednesday evening.
\nThe suspect previously had a valid gun licence that had since lapsed, McDonald said.
\nPolice said Van Rootselaar had dropped out of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School four years ago.
\nAround 13:30 local time (20:30 GMT) on Tuesday, police received a report of an active shooter at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Officers arrived on the scene within two minutes of the call, heard active gunfire and entered the school, McDonald said.
\nWithin minutes they located the shooter, who was deceased from what police say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
\nAuthorities found two firearms – a long gun and a modified handgun – on the scene.
\nBut McDonald said it remains unclear the exact roles the firearms played in the shooting.
\nPolice then began searching for victims throughout the school. Two victims were taken to hospital by air ambulance and remain in hospital.
\nTumbler Ridge has about 2,400 residents, and its secondary school has 160 students in Grades 7-12.
\nCanadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the students and teachers \u201cbore witness to unheard-of cruelty\u201d during the shooting, noting that some victims remain in hospital \u201cfighting for their lives\u201d.
\nTumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka told reporters late on Wednesday the close-knit community was \u201cone big family.\u201d
\n\u201cLend your ear when someone needs your ear,\u201d he said, growing emotional at times. \u201cLend your shoulder when someone needs your shoulder. Give somebody a hug.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Canada An 18-year-old has been named as the suspect in a shooting that killed eight people and injured dozens more in British Columbia, Canada. Police said Jesse Van Rootselaar was found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot injury. The motive for the attack is not yet known. Six people were killed and at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-531070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n