Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre held hands Friday during a vigil for the victims of a shooting in the small town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The gesture, made while an Indigenous leader sang a prayer in front of the town hall, symbolized a rare display of political unity in the face of one of the country's worst recent tragedies.
According to authorities, the suspected shooter, aged 18 and identified as Jesse Van Rootselaar, first killed her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old half-brother at their home, before going to Tumbler Ridge High School where she opened fire, killing five students and one educational staff member, before committing suicide.
Before a crowd of several hundred people, some holding photos of deceased loved ones, Mark Carney read out the names of the six victims killed at the school and said that the shooter's mother and brother "also deserve to be mourned." He assured the residents that the country would stand with them when "the cameras are gone and silence falls."
Pierre Poilievre praised the Prime Minister's "great dignity." The two leaders had travelled together from Ottawa to attend the ceremony. British Columbia Premier David Eby promised that students would not be forced to return to the school building if it proved too difficult for them, assuring them that a safe place would be made available.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported that four firearms were seized, two at the family home and two at the school. The deputy regional police chief described the scene as "chaotic," with officers responding within minutes of the alert.
This attack is the deadliest in Canada since 2020, when a gunman killed 13 people in Nova Scotia and started fires that caused nine more deaths. School shootings remain rare in a country with strict gun control laws, which are regularly strengthened following similar tragedies.
