Police on Wednesday identified the suspect in a school shooting in Canada as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who had prior mental health calls to her home.
Van Rootselaar was found dead following the attack that killed eight other people in the small mountain community of Tumbler Ridge in a remote part of the British Columbia province.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald said in a press conference that Van Rootselaar had a history of mental health contact with police, and that the suspect’s mother and stepbrother were also found dead in a home near the school.
The motive behind the attack still remains unclear.
More than 25 people were wounded Tuesday in the double attack, including two with life-threatening injuries who were airlifted for medical care, police said.
Police also revised the initial death toll for the mass shooting to eight victims and the shooter, who died allegedly with self-inflicted wounds. Initially, authorities had reported that nine victims and the shooter had died.
However, one of the believed fatalities, "a female with significant injuries," survived, McDonald said in a press conference.
{{/usCountry}}However, one of the believed fatalities, "a female with significant injuries," survived, McDonald said in a press conference.
{{/usCountry}}He informed that the said victim and a second woman airlifted to the hospital “remain in serious condition”.
Canada mourns the deadliest shooting since 2020
The attack was Canada’s deadliest rampage since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left another nine dead.
“Parents, grandparents, sisters, and brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you, and Canada stands by you,” an emotional Prime Minister Mark Carney said as he arrived in Parliament.
Carney said flags at government buildings will be flown at half-staff for seven days and added: “We will get through this."
School shootings are rare in Canada, which has strict gun-control laws. The government has responded to previous mass shootings with gun-control measures, including a recently broadened ban on all guns it considers assault weapons.