The names and photos of eight children and adults shot to death in a small British Columbia town were released by police in a sombre visual rollcall of chubby cheeks, shy smiles and braces.
The 2,700 residents of Tumbler Ridge, meanwhile, began coping not only with unimaginable grief but also empathy and rage in a community they now share with the kin of the killer.
Girls Kylie Smith, Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert — all age 12 — and boys Abel Mwansa Jr., also 12, and Ezekiel Schofield, 13, were killed Tuesday afternoon in Tumbler Ridge Secondary School by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar.
Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39, an education assistant at the school, was also killed by Van Rootselaar, who was the ninth to die when she shot herself as police moved in to stop the carnage.
Police also confirmed that before heading to the school that day, Van Rootselaar killed her mother 39-year-old Jennifer Jacobs, and her 11-year-old stepbrother Emmett Jacobs, in the family home.
Here are photos from Tumbler Ridge as the community grapples with the tragedy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.
The Canadian Press
