'Canadians are with you,' says PM at Tumbler Ridge vigil

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has attended a vigil in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, where hundreds gathered to mourn the eight victims killed in a mass shooting there this week.

He visited the small town on Friday alongside other federal leaders across the political aisle, as well as Canada's Governor-General Mary Simon, in a show of national unity.

"Canadians are with you, we will always be with you," Carney told the crowd in a speech that paid tribute to the victims, which included six young schoolchildren.

Residents of the town are still reeling from the attack, with some visibly in tears and comforting one another as Carney and other leaders addressed their grief.

Many refused to speak to the media on Friday, noting that the presence of journalists in their otherwise quiet town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains had been overwhelming.

Carney, who has spent much of his time in office on overseas trade missions, cancelled a planned trip to the Munich Security Conference in light of the shooting.

The prime minister invited the other federal leaders to travel to Tumbler Ridge on the same plane as him, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said.

"We all lead political parties. But today? There are no Conservatives. There are no Liberals, New Democrats, Greens or Bloc Québécois," Poilievre said in his own remarks at Friday's vigil.

Ahead of the vigil, Carney and other leaders met families of the victims and first responders. They also laid flowers at a memorial near Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, which has grown over the week.

Families of the victims and local residents attended, as well as people who drove in from nearby small communities in northern British Columbia, to pay their respects.

"I never thought that it would happen here," said Colaina Hall, who drove two hours south from Fort St John to attend the vigil. "In our little northern communities, we're pretty tight-knit, we take care of one another."

"It is just devastating," she added.

Police have named the suspect in the shooting as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who also lived in the community. Van Rootselaar was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the school, police said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told reporters on Friday that it did not believe the suspect had been targeting anyone specific with the attack.

"This suspect was, for a lack of a better term, hunting," said RCMP deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald. "They were prepared, and engaging anybody and everybody they could come in contact with."

Police added that they had seized a total of four firearms related to the shooting - two from the suspect's home and two from the school.

Authorities earlier said they did not know how the suspect procured the weapons used in the shooting.

Police had previously said that Van Rootselaar had a firearm licence that expired in 2024.

While Van Rootselaar's mother, Jennifer Jacobs, who was also known as Jennifer Strang, had a licence to buy and possess guns, there were no firearms registered under that licence, McDonald said.

He added that by law there were "certain types of firearms" that did not have to be registered.

A 2021 Facebook post from Strang, 39, described how the teenager was interested in guns, BBC Verify found.

One post shared in 2021 by a relative shows the suspect holding a hunting rifle.

Strang was among those killed in the attack.

McDonald said police were still working to determine how Van Rootselaar was able to obtain the guns used in the attack, particularly the firearm "believed to be the one that caused the most significant damage" at the school.

He would not provide information about what style the primary gun from the school was, saying "because of its unknown origin, we don't know if there's other parties in terms of procuring that weapon".

Police have said Van Rootselaar was born a biological male but identified as a woman after starting to transition six years ago.

Guns were seized from the suspect's home in the past, police said, but were returned after a successful petition from the firearms' owner.

Neither guns used in the attack - which occurred both at the suspect's home and the school - were previously seized by police, McDonald clarified on Friday.

The suspect had a history of mental health struggles and was previously admitted for psychiatric evaluation, according to police.

Police also released an image of the suspect, noting that misinformation had been circulating on social media about the attack and the suspect's identity.

The school remained closed on Friday as the RCMP continued its investigation, though McDonald said he hoped that their work would be concluded soon, "recognising that the town needs to heal".

A total of nine people, including the suspected shooter, died in the shootings. That includes five children and one teacher at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, as well as two of the suspected shooter's family members at a local residence.

The RCMP confirmed that those killed at the school were: 12-year-old Kylie Smith, 12-year-old Abel Mwansa, 12-year-old Zoey Benoit, 12-year-old Ticaria Lampert, 13-year-old Ezekiel Schofield, and 39-year-old Shannda Aviugana-Durand.

Benoit's family remembered her as "resilient, vibrant, smart, caring and the strongest little girl you could meet" in a statement shared by the police.

"She brought so much laughter and smiles in her presence," they said. "She loved spending time with her family where she could show her love.

"Our family is devastated by this loss, but we will cherish her memories with us so close to our hearts forever."

Ticaria Lampert was just two months away from her 13th birthday, her mother Sarah Lampert said during a news conference on Thursday.

"I called her my tiki torch," Lampert said. "She's always been a blazing light in the darkness and if you didn't manage to see her, you would definitely hear her."

As well as the suspect's mother, 11-year-old stepbrother Emmett Jacobs was also killed, police confirmed.