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Written by Hanna Lee Copy Editor, Digital News
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Good morning. The RCMP have identified the eight victims of the Tumbler Ridge shooting, many of them young students at the local secondary school. We'll share some of their stories below. We'll also look into an online hoax about the shooter.
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THE LATEST
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- The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has claimed victory in the country's first election since the 2024 uprising.
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- Canadian physics professor Lee Smolin has stepped back from his job at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ont., after the latest Epstein file release raised questions about his continued relationship with the late sex offender.
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FEATURED STORIES
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(Submitted by RCMP)
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All 8 victims killed in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooting identified by police
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The RCMP have identified all eight victims of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting, as the province observed a day of mourning.
What's happening: The victims included the shooter's mother, Jennifer Strang, 39, and stepbrother, Emmett Jacobs, 11, who were found dead at the family home. Shannda Aviugana-Durand, a 39-year-old educational assistant, was killed at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. The rest were students at the school, between 12 and 13 years of age:
- Abel Mwansa Jr., 12: Born in Zambia, he moved to Canada in March 2023 with his family. "Everybody loves him and everybody knew him in town," his father said.
- Zoey Benoit, 12: She loved spending time with her family, who described her as vibrant, smart, caring and "the strongest little girl you could meet."
- Kylie Smith, 12: A talented artist, she dreamed of going to art school in Toronto, her family said. She was also the community's youngest figure skater, giving her first performance at just over three years old.
- Ticaria Lampert, 12: She was "loud and proud," her mother said in an emotional statement with reporters. She was part of a large family and bridged the age gaps between her other siblings.
- Ezekiel Schofield, 13.
What else we learned: Questions remain around the two firearms recovered from the school, and how the shooter got ahold of them, despite having an expired licence. The RCMP have said police followed protocol in previous incidents related to the shooter. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will travel to the community today for a vigil. Meanwhile, the shooter's biological father, Justin Van Rootselaar, gave his condolences in a statement. He said he was estranged from his child, whom he referred to as his son. (The shooter was a trans woman.) CBC has not independently verified his claims. The community in Tumbler Ridge was largely quiet, two days after the shooting, with gifts left outside and candles placed on doorsteps.
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This X account looked like it belonged to the Tumbler Ridge shooter. It was a hoax
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A social media account that some initially believed belonged to the shooter turned out to be a fraud.
What's happening: The X profile appeared to match the name of a YouTube channel belonging to the shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar. People online had used that channel to try and uncover possible motivations for the mass shooting. The X account, which was soon removed, featured numerous racist, white supremacist and antisemitic posts. But it was someone pretending to be the shooter.
Why it matters: It shows how quickly false information can spread in situations like these. Even the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent nonprofit founded to fight antisemitism, appeared to fall for the hoax, publishing a report that initially referenced the X profile. (It issued a correction Thursday.) Meanwhile, in the hours following the shooting, a transgender Ontario woman was misidentified as the suspect, with several outlets, including Radio-Canada, picking up the viral claim. Experts encourage waiting a beat until verified, official information is released.
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SPORTWATCH
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What you missed in Milano Cortina yesterday: Team Canada added three medals, bringing our total count to seven. Mikaël Kingsbury scored the third Olympic silver medal of his career in the men's moguls. He's now the most decorated men's Olympic freestyle skier of all time. Meanwhile, Éliot Grondin won silver in the men's snowboard cross. Speed skater Courtney Sarault won bronze in the women's 500-metre short-track. In hockey news, our men's team defeated Czechia 5-0 to open their preliminary round, while the women's team bounced back to beat Finland 5-0 to close out theirs.
A long read: The International Olympic Committee bars political demonstrations from podiums and competitions. But what counts as one can be complicated, as in the case of Ukraine's Vladyslav Heraskevych. The skeleton competitor was barred from racing after insisting on wearing a helmet adorned with pictures of war victims. Read more here.
What to look for today: Canada's men's hockey team will face Switzerland at 3:10 p.m. ET. Brad Jacobs and team triumphed over the U.S. in men's curling this morning, but take on the defending champs, Sweden, this afternoon. Canada's women curlers are also on the ice today against Team USA. And Canadians are competing in snowboard cross, cross-country skiing, speed skating, skeleton and figure skating.
Canada's medal count: | | | |
