The man who attacked a rural Canadian school identified as a woman and had a history of mental illness, law enforcement confirmed Wednesday.
Police identified the man who opened fire on Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, killing six people, as Jesse Van Rootselaar.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald confirmed that Van Rootselaar, who was found dead at the school, began to “transition” about six years ago.
“I will say this, we identify the suspect as they chose to be identified in public and on social media,” he said.
“I can say that Jesse was born as a biological male who approximately six years ago began to transition to female and identified as female, both socially and publicly.”
Police also confirmed that two people, identified as Van Rootselaar’s mother and brother, were found dead at a nearby residence the day of the shooting.
McDonald said that police had seized guns from the residence in previous years. Canadian outlets have identified the mother and brother as Jennifer and Emmett Strang, respectively.
He also said that police had visited the residence multiple times, dealing with “concerns of mental health” with regard to the shooter.
He said the shooter had been detained in the past because of mental health concerns.
Many of the first reports of the shooting described the attacker as a woman wearing a dress.
A police alert issued immediately after the shooting said the suspect was wearing a dress, and called them a “gunperson,” as opposed to a gunman, since the shooter identified as “nonbinary.”
Speculation then began circulating that a YouTube page called “JessJessUwU” was run by the shooter.
The page featured an anime figure and a rifle with colors associated with the pink, purple, and blue transgender flag in the background, according to screenshots captured by conservative publisher Juno News.
After the reports started linking the shooting to the account, it was removed. The YouTube channel’s owner showcased “she/her” pronouns in the biography section.
“Following this horrific incident, our Trust and Safety teams identified and removed a YouTube channel associated with the alleged suspect in accordance with our Creator Responsibility Guidelines,” YouTube told The Daily Wire.
This is an ongoing story.