The BC government also provided victim services support
Eight have died and one person was severely injured in a mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on February 10, reported CBC News.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said six victims died within the school, while two were found in a Fellers Avenue home believed to be linked to the shooting. Deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald, the RCMP’s commanding officer in BC, said 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a Tumbler Ridge local, had been identified as the suspect.
The six victims who died in the school were educator Shannda Aviugana-Durand and students Abel Mwansa, Ezekiel Schofield, Kylie Smith, Zoey Benoit, and Ticaria Lampert. The students were aged between 12-13 years old. Twelve-year-old Maya Gebala also sustained injuries and was flown to B.C. Children’s Hospital.
Van Rootselaar died in the shooting. Her mother Jennifer Strang (legal name Jennifer Jacobs) and her 11-year-old stepbrother Emmett Jacobs were the victims found at the Fellers Avenue property.
The BC government confirmed that resources from across the province had been mobilized to Tumbler Ridge, including mental-health and victims-services professionals. BC premier David Eby and Nina Krieger, the minister of public safety and solicitor general, visited the Tumbler Ridge community alongside federal public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree and housing minister Gregor Robertson.
Prime minister Mark Carney is expected to attend a vigil tomorrow, per CBC News. Yukon premier Currie Dixon said in a statement that he had ordered all flags at the Jim Smith Building to be lowered to half-mast for seven days.
The incident spurred an outpouring of support from the legal community. Patricia Blair, president of the Canadian Bar Association’s BC branch, encouraged members and those impacted to seek support through the Lawyers Assistance Program of BC (604.685.2171) and the BC Crisis Lines.
“In the days ahead, many members of the legal profession will be called upon to support individuals and institutions as they navigate the impact and consequences of this tragedy. CBABC acknowledges and thanks those who do so with care and professionalism,” Blair said in a statement.
The Law Society of BC said it stood in solidarity with the Tumbler Ridge community, offering support to legal professionals via its Lawyer Well-being Hub.
