Update: 18-year-old Jesse Strang named as transgender Canadian school shooter who murdered eight before dying by suicide

The sho0ter who k!lled eight people in British Columbia has been named as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar by Canadian police. 

The horrifying attack, one of the deadliest sho0tings in Canada’s history, began Tuesday, at a residence in the sleepy rural community of Tumbler Ridge in the western province and concluded at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School,

Van Rootselaar, who also went by Jesse Strang, was found de@d from a self-inflicted gunsh0t wound inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday, having killed five students and a 39-year-old teacher.

The transgender student opened fire in the school library, k!lling three girls, all 12, and two boys, aged 12 and 13.

Van Rootselaar also killed their 39-year-old mother, Jennifer, and 11-year-old step-sibling, Emmett.

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) spokesperson said they believe Jesse worked alone.

RCMP added that Jesse began identifying as female six years ago, aged 12 and said there had been multiple call-outs to his home related to his mental health.

Strang stopped attending school four years ago aged just 14, the spokesman said.  

A total of 25 people were injured in the massacre. Maya Gebala, 12, was sh0t in the neck and head and is currently being treated in hospital. She is the only victim named so far.

Deputy Commissioner McDonald confirmed Van Rootselarr identified as a woman, but was born male.

Deputy Commissioner McDonald confirmed during a press conference that law enforcement had been in contact with Jesse within the past year.

When asked if the suspect had a gun licence, McDonald told reporters: “I believe she had a license which had expired in 2024; she did not have any firearms registered to her”.