Guns and mental health struggles: What the apparent online footprint of the Canada school shooter tells us

The suspect in Canada’s Tumbler Ridge mass shooting posted about guns and hunting on her YouTube channel and appeared to have written about her struggles with mental health online, according to social media posts.

Canadian police named 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar as the shooter who killed her mother and 11-year-old stepbrother before opening fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, killing five students and a teacher and then fatally shooting herself. Police are still investigating and have not determined a motive.

Van Rootselaar, who was transgender, transitioned about six years ago, according to police. She was a resident of the remote town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia and had dropped out of school about four years ago.

According to social media posts, verified by CNN, Van Rootselaar had access to guns and was enthusiastic about hunting.

Jennifer Strang, the suspected shooter’s mother, posted a photo to Facebook in 2024 of a cabinet holding what appears to be six hunting rifles, with the caption “Think it’s time to take them out for some target practice.”

Van Rootselaar spoke about hunting and guns on a YouTube channel, according to a 2021 Facebook post by Strang.

Strang posted a link to what she described as Van Rootselaar’s YouTube channel, which contains “posts about hunting, self-reliance, guns and stuff (she) likes to do.” Strang encouraged her friends to check it out and subscribe.

That YouTube channel had been taken down as of Thursday. An archived search showed several videos posted on it with titles related to firearms.

A Reddit user with the same username as the YouTube channel, and whose activity is consistent with the channel and the age of the suspected shooter, posted a video in 2023 of themself using a gun at a firing range.

While Canada has far stricter gun laws than the US, it is legal to own certain types of guns with a valid license. Children between 12 and 17 can use a firearm for an approved purpose such as hunting or target practice with a Minor’s License.

Police recovered two firearms, a long gun and a modified handgun at the scene on Tuesday, though neither was registered to Van Rootselaar, whose license expired in 2024.

Hunting is a common pastime in Tumbler Ridge, Rev. Gerald Krauss of the town’s New Life Assembly Church told CNN.

The small town is best known for its nature and is surrounded by wildlife including deer, moose, elk, wolves, and grizzly and black bears.

The community is no stranger to guns but a fatal shooting was “brand new,” according to Krauss. “Everybody hunts and no one did something stupid,” he said, calling them “very responsible people who live here.”

Police seized firearms from Van Rootselaar’s residence a couple of years ago but later returned them when the owner petitioned for them, Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on Wednesday. Police did not specify the owner of the firearms.

McDonald said police had also visited Van Rootselaar multiple times in recent years regarding mental health issues, and that on some occasions “the suspect was apprehended for assessment and follow up.”

The most recent visit, last spring, was over “concerns regarding mental health, self-harm,” he said.

On the Reddit account which matched the username of Van Rootselaar’s YouTube channel, several posts openly discussed struggles with mental health issues, with the poster saying they had sought psychiatric help in 2023. The Reddit posts also detailed drug use.

When asked if the town had adequate support for mental health services, the town’s mayor, Darryl Krakowka, said it was something the community was short on.