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By Jordan King
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The suspect in Canada’s most deadly recent mass shooting, Jesse Van Rootselaar, struggled with drug abuse, suffered from mental health issues, and often discussed guns, social media posts reveal.
In archived versions of the posts reported by The New York Times and The New York Post, Van Rootselaar said they had been diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), major depressive disorder and autism spectrum disorder.
The 18-year-old spoke about smoking weed and taking psychedelics, including mushrooms and the hallucinogen nicknamed “toad venom.”
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Van Rootselaar allegedly killed eight people, including their mother, 39, and stepbrother, 11, when they opened fire on Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia and a nearby home on Tuesday, before dying from what appeared to be a “self-inflicted injury.”
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told reporters at a press conference Wednesday that Van Rootselaar, of Tumbler Ridge, was a "biological male who approximately six years ago began to transition to female."
Why It Matters
The mass shooting in the rural town has rocked Canada, where such violence is rare, and raised urgent questions about mental health interventions, online radicalization, and how guns were accessible in a home repeatedly visited by police.
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What To Know
Van Rootselaar, who used their mother’s maiden name for their online profiles, according to the NYT, posted on Reddit about suicidal thoughts in 2023.
In October that year, Van Rootselaar asked for advice on whether it was safe to keep using psychedelics claiming he “burnt my house down my second time trying shrooms,” the NYT and the Post reported.
The next month, Van Rootselaar asked whether it was safe to use “5-MeO-DMT alone,” referring to the hallucinogen nicknamed “toad venom,” according to the Post.
5-MeO-DMT is a is a natural psychedelic drug found in the venom of the Colorado River toad, Bufo Alvarius. “Users often report overwhelmingly intense experiences which can sometimes be difficult to remember,” according to the UK drugs charity Drug Science.
People often experience “auditory and visual hallucinations, internal scenes, time perception distortions and cognitive and/or emotional shifts,” it said, adding that “experiences can range from being euphoric and spiritually significant to dysphoric and psychologically scarring.”
Van Rootselaar also posted frequently on Reddit about weapons, according to the NYT, including a photo of a semiautomatic rifle that looked like the Chinese Norinco SKS their mother had previously posted about them having on Facebook.
The NYT also reports that Van Rootselaar appears to have had an account on a website where users share uncensored videos of violence and extreme gore. The same-looking gun was posted by an account with a similar username to Van Rootselaar’s Reddit username. Van Rootselaar said on this site, which started out as a now-banned Reddit community, that they found violent videos “addictive.”
Van Rootselaar was known to police, McDonald told reporters at a press conference Wednesday. There was a history of police calls to the family home, including calls related to mental health concerns.
The suspect had previously been apprehended under the Mental Health Act for assessment and follow-up.
About two years ago, officers seized firearms from the residence under the Criminal Code. The lawful owner later petitioned to have the weapons returned. Authorities said Van Rootselaar had an expired firearms license in 2024 and had no guns registered in her name.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive in the shootings and are continuing to examine the Van Rootselaar's background and prior interactions with law enforcement, McDonald said.
What Happened In Tumbler Ridge?
Police responded to reports of a shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School at about 1:20 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Students told local news media of hearing an alarm going off shortly after they arrived in class that day, and of having to stay locked down in their classrooms for up to two hours before they were rescued.
When officers arrived at the school, they found six victims inside, together with the body of the shooter who had suffered a fatal self-inflicted injury. At least 25 more people were injured during the shooting at the school, and two were airlifted to the hospital.
Two more people were found dead at a nearby home.
Authorities had initially given a death toll of nine, but revised it to eight on Wednesday.
What Happens Next
Provincial and federal authorities will continue homicide and firearms investigations, including tracing the recovered weapons, reviewing prior police contacts, and assessing whether policy or legislative changes are warranted regarding firearm returns after mental health interventions.
Police will release more details as they confirm victim identifications, ballistics findings, and timelines, and courts or oversight bodies may later examine the firearms licensing and monitoring process in this case.
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