The eight victims murdered by the transgender gunman in the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history have been named. 

Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, opened fire in the library at Tumbler Ridge’s Secondary School in British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon. 

Van Rootselaar took his own life at the school. He killed his mother, Jennifer, and 11-year-old stepbrother, Emmett, at their home beforehand, CTV News reported. 

He also killed a 39-year-old female teacher, who has yet to be identified, Kylie Smith, Abel Mwansa Jr., and Ezekial Schofield, all aged between 12 and 13. 

Maya Gebala and Paige Hoekstra, both 12, have been left in critical condition. A total of 25 people were injured in the massacre.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Van Rootselaar began identifying as female six years ago, at age 12, and confirmed there had been multiple call-outs to the family home for mental health-related concerns. 

An emergency alert described the shooter as a ‘female in a dress with brown hair.’

Police said the shooter’s legal surname is Van Rootselaar, although he used his mother’s last name locally and on social media.

Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, has been named as the gunman who murdered eight people in the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history

Jesse Van Rootselaar took his own life at the school

Children were led out of the school after the shooting as authorities attended the scene

RCMP also confirmed that Van Rootselaar dropped out of school at age 14.

Van Rootselaar’s motive has not been identified, as the RCMP revealed firearms were confiscated from the man’s home – but then returned. 

These are the victims that have been identified thus far. 

Kylie Smith, 12 – dead 

Kylie Smith, 12, was killed in the rampage. 

Smith’s father, Lance Younge, described her as the ‘light of their family’ while speaking to CTV.

‘She was just a beautiful soul. She loves art and anime. She wanted to go to school in Toronto and we just love her so much,’ he said. ‘She never hurt a soul.’ 

An online fundraiser described Smith as a ‘beautiful, kind, innocent soul’.

Younge said he wants the public to focus on the victims – and not the shooter.

‘Let’s stop giving this psychopath the recognition, because these kids were lost before they got to become teenagers,’ Lance Younge pleaded with CTV.

‘Let’s put these pictures up, remember them and not this murderer.’

The distraught father told CTV that he only heard from Smith’s 15-year-old brother, Ethan, when Van Rootselaar started shooting at the school on Tuesday afternoon.

Ethan had been hiding in a utility closet at around 3pm local time and wanted to tell his family that he loved them. He did not know where his sister was.

The last their father saw her, Young said, was when she and Ethan were dropped off at school that morning. 

‘I soaked in that moment watching them walk in the door together, for whatever reason,’ he recounted. ‘I didn’t know it would be the last time.’ 

Kylie Smith, 12, was one of five students killed in a mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia on Tuesday afternoon

Smith had dreamed of going to school in Toronto, and enjoyed art and anime, her father said

Smith (right) was remembered as the ‘light of the family’ following her untimely death

Abel Mwansa Jr.

Abel Mwansa Jr., 12, the son of Zambian immigrants, was among the students killed in the shooting. 

His family said he had been looking forward to turning 13 next month and had started seventh grade at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in September.

In a series of Facebook posts, his father, Mwansa Sr., described Abel as a bright, smiling boy who loved school, science experiments and dreamed of becoming a leader, engineer or scientist.

His father was supposed to pick him up from a youth group meeting at their church after school that day ‘not knowing that my son will be shot like a stray dog murdered in cold blood.’

Abel Jr’s father shared memories of teaching him to work hard, respect elders and stay focused on his studies.

‘Seeing your child murdered at this age is heart breaking. I was broken when I saw you packed in that BLACK BAG lifeless and zipped up like those we see in movies was devastating,’ his father wrote.

He is survived by his parents, his younger sister Shakainah, and his little brother Jasail. 

A GoFundMe has been made by friends of the Mwansa family to help them cover funeral costs.

Abel Mwansa Jr., 12, was among the students killed in the shooting

His family said Abel Jr. was looking forward to turning 13 next month and had started seventh grade at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in September

Ezekiel Schofield, 13

Ezekiel Schofield, 13 was among the students killed in the attack.

His death was confirmed by his grandfather, Peter Schofield, who wrote in a Facebook post that the family was ‘absolutely broken’ by the loss and was travelling to Tumbler Ridge to support one another. 

He described the outpouring of condolences as overwhelming and said their hearts were with every family affected. 

Schofield was an avid hockey player and played as a forward for the Tumbler Ridge Raptors hockey team.

Paige Hoekstra, 12

Paige Hoekstra was among those injured in the shooting, according to the Toronto Star. 

A GoFundMe campaign launched by her brother, Nicholas, has raised more than $25,000 as of Thursday morning. 

Paige was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital, where she underwent surgery, her brother wrote in the description of the fundraiser.

He added that the family was ‘scared’ and taking things ‘one moment at a time’ as they dealt with the sudden crisis.

‘Watching someone you love go through something like this is something you can’t really prepare for,’ he said.

He said donations would help cover travel, time away from work and the medical care Paige will need.

Paige Hoekstra was among those injured in the shooting, according to the Toronto Star

Paige (bottom right) was airlifted to a Vancouver hospital, where she underwent surgery, according to her brother

Maya Gebala, 12

Maya Gebala, 12, was shot in the head and neck by Van Rootselaar and has been left in critical condition.

Her relative, Krysta Hunt, told Global News that that Maya was struck by two bullets after trying to lock a library door to keep out Van Rootselaar.

‘[Maya] tried to lock the door of the library from the shooter to save the other kids, and then she tried to lock it and then ran and hid under a table and [got shot],’ Hunt told Global News.

She was hit with bullet just above her left eye, with a second bullet hitting her neck.

Maya’s friends alerted medics that her finger was still moving even after being shot, and she was promptly rushed to the hospital.

While she defied the odds of survival, her mother, Cia Edmonds, revealed on Wednesday that doctors at Vancouver Children’s Hospital warned the ‘damage to her brain was too much for her to endure.’ 

‘They tell me [if] she survives her life will only be feeding [tubes] and round the clock care. I feel cruel for keeping her. But they don’t know her like i do,’ Edmonds wrote in a post Wednesday.

‘I can feel her in my heart. I can feel her saying it’s going to be OK… She’s here… for how long we don’t know,’ she said.

Maya Gebala was one of 27 people injured in the shooting

Maya’s mother Cia Edmonds shared this photo from hospital as she prayed for a miracle after doctors told her the little girl wouldn’t last the night

Maya’s family said she was hit by shrapnel during the shooting but it was unknown how she was hit and how much damage was done

Jennifer Strang and Emmet Van Rootselaar

Jennifer Strang, 39, the shooter’s mother, was found gunned down in her home along with her son, Emmett, the 11-year-old step sibling of Jesse.

She had been active on social media in the years leading up to the February 10 massacre, often posting edited selfies, photos of her children, and messages calling out rising hate directed at transgender people. 

Van Rootselaar was also mother to several other children, whose ages range from 14 to 19.

Jennifer Strang, 39, the shooter’s mother, was found gunned down in her home along with her son, Emmet, the 11-year-old step sibling of Jesse

Emmett Strang, 11, who gunned down by his step-brother, is pictured in an undated Facebook post taken by family member in 2021 to celebrate 7th birthday

The BC government has declared a province‑wide day of mourning on Thursday for the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said he will visit the community soon, after hundreds attended a candlelight vigil Tuesday night. 

Leaders worldwide have offered condolences to the tight‑knit northeastern BC town. 

An emergency alert was issued around 1.20pm Tuesday warning residents of an active shooter. 

Minutes later, a lockdown alarm sounded inside the local schools, urging students and staff to barricade doors. 

Tumbler Ridge is a remote Rockies community of 2,400 known for its waterfalls, hiking trails and UNESCO Global Geopark dinosaur tracks.

Carney said he was ‘devastated’ by the tragedy and suspended a planned trip to Halifax and Munich. 

BC Premier David Eby called the shooting ‘unimaginable,’ urging residents to support the community.