Canada mass shooting suspect had police visits over mental health struggles

The teenage suspect in a mass shooting in rural British Columbia had been the subject of a number of police visits in recent years because of mental health issues, authorities say.

Police say the 18-year-old - who was found dead on the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound - killed eight people, including six children, in Tuesday's attack in Tumbler Ridge.

Jesse Van Rootselaar had previously been apprehended and assessed under the Mental Health Act, and used to have a firearms licence.

It is unclear who owned the guns used in the attack, or what was the motive. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he will visit the mountain town in the coming days.

British Columbia, in western Canada, proclaimed Thursday a day of mourning across the province.

Five students aged 12 to 13 and a 39-year-old teacher were killed and at least 25 others were injured at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

Two others - the suspect's mother, also 39, and 11-year-old step-brother - were found dead at a nearby home, where the attack began.

Two young victims remain in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Wednesday there was a history of visiting Van Rootselaar's family home in the past several years because of the suspect's mental health struggles.

"On different occasions the suspect was apprehended for assessment and follow up," said RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald.

British Columbia Premier David Eby told a news conference outside the Tumbler Ridge town hall late on Wednesday evening they were in contact with the public healthcare system officials to "understand what interactions may have taken place".

Van Rootselaar was born a biological male, but identified as a female, authorities said.

Tumbler Ridge has about 2,400 residents, and its secondary school, where the shooting unfolded, has 160 students. Police said Van Rootselaar had dropped out of school four years ago.

The RCMP also said there had been guns in the suspect's home, which had been seized by police about two years ago.

Someone in the family, whom police did not name, later successfully petitioned to get the firearms back.

Authorities found two firearms - a long gun and a modified handgun - on the scene, though they said they did not know how the suspect procured the weapons used in the shooting.

A 2021 Facebook post from the suspect's mother, Jennifer Strang, 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.

Court documents from a separate matter about a decade ago offer a glimpse into the suspect's upbringing.

Legal papers from a custody battle says the family led "an almost nomadic life" between 2010-15.

This included "multiple moves over the last five years between Newfoundland, Grand Cache and Powell River, British Columbia".

In a July 2024 Instagram post, the suspect's mother described herself as a "conservative leaning libertarian" and spoke out in support of protecting "trans kids".

"Do you have any idea how many kids are killing themselves over this kind of hate?" she wrote.

On Wednesday night, hundreds of mourners gathered for a moment of silence in Tumbler Ridge's main square and outside the British Columbia legislature in Victoria.

With additional reporting from BBC Verify.