Canadian police announced Wednesday that the suspected perpetrator of the Tumbler Ridge massacre, which left eight dead in the west of the country the previous day, was an 18-year-old local woman responsible for an act of "unprecedented cruelty," according to Prime Minister Mark Carney.

This young woman, Jesse Van Rootselaar, described by the police as transgender, opened fire in a secondary school killing five children aged 12 and 13 and a 39-year-old teacher.

She also shot and killed her mother and brother in a residence, explained Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Dwayne McDonald.

Her motive remains unknown for the time being, according to authorities, who also indicated that they had visited the suspect's home several times in the past for mental health issues.

Police revised the death toll from the massacre to eight on Wednesday, after announcing nine deaths the previous day. Some 25 people were also injured, some of whom remain in critical condition.

Upon the arrival of law enforcement at the scene, "shots were fired in their direction" by this person, explained Dwayne McDonald.

The shooter was carrying a long gun and a pistol when she was found dead due to "a self-inflicted gunshot wound," he added at a press conference.

- "Shocked and saddened" -

According to him, weapons had been confiscated from the suspect, before being returned.

Tumbler Ridge is a small, isolated town of some 2,300 inhabitants at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in the province of British Columbia, several hours' drive from any urban center.

"We will overcome this ordeal. We will learn from it," promised Mark Carney, calling on Canadians to "come together" in a country in shock, unaccustomed to such mass shootings unlike its American neighbor.

The head of government also denounced an act of "unprecedented cruelty" which plunged the nation "into shock" and "mourning," in front of Parliament where a minute of silence was observed.

Flags on government buildings will be flown at half-mast for one week.

Nina Krieger, the province's Minister of Public Safety, referred to it as "one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history."

"We will come together and make sure we listen to those who want to speak" after this "great tragedy," Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka told the public broadcaster CBC.

The British royal family said they were "deeply shocked and saddened" by this tragedy, in a statement from King Charles III, who is also the head of state of Canada.

This is the second mass shooting in British Columbia in less than a year. In April 2025, a man killed 11 people in Vancouver by driving his truck into a crowd.

- Barricaded doors -

This type of attack is exceptional in Canadian schools. It strikes a mining town known for its outdoor tourism, with its proximity to mountains and a geological park.

"My youngest child has just graduated from high school (...). My eldest daughter works 300 meters from the school. It was a close call," Trent Ernst, a local journalist and former substitute teacher at Tumbler Ridge High School, told AFP on Tuesday evening.

"School shootings in Canada used to happen every few years (...). But when it happens in your own city, things completely spiral out of control," he added.

Darian Quist, a student at the school, told CBC that he was in class when they were told about the school lockdown.

"We took tables and barricaded the doors for more than two hours" until the police arrived, he said.

The first alert in the early afternoon concerned a shooter in the school. Upon arrival, law enforcement officers initially discovered six bodies.

Police then identified "a second location (...) linked to the assault," according to a statement, corresponding to the residence where the suspect's mother and brother were found dead.

Although mass shootings are less frequent in Canada than in the United States, statistics over the last decade show a steady increase in crimes committed with firearms.

In 2020, Canada banned 1,500 models of assault weapons in response to the deadliest mass shooting in its history, which left 22 people dead in the province of Nova Scotia (east).