Tumbler Ridge shooter was ‘hunting,’ not targeting specific people at high school: B.C. RCMP
What we learned from the RCMP today
It’s been three days since one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canada’s history and there are still many unknowns. But we did get some more information from the RCMP this afternoon, in an approximately 10-minute update.
Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told reporters police are looking at four guns used in the Tumbler Ridge shooting that left eight people dead, including six children.
He said the shooter had two guns at their home and used a shotgun to kill her mother and half-brother there. That shotgun had never been seized by police, McDonald clarified.
Two other guns were later used in the school shooting that killed five students and an educational assistant.
McDonald said the firearm “believed to be the one that caused the most significant damage” at the school had never been seized by the RCMP, either.
“We’re trying to determine how our suspect got that firearm.”
He also said it appeared the shooter was not targeting specific people at the school.
“This suspect was, for lack of a better term, hunting. They were prepared and engaging anybody and everybody they could come in contact with.”
Police had initially described one of the guns found at the school as a modified handgun. However they clarified today that it was a modified rifle, and its origin is unknown.
McDonald said the shooter’s mother, Jennifer Strang, held a valid possession and acquisition licence but there were no firearms registered to that licence.
RCMP also released a verified photo of the shooter.
The investigation continues and McDonald said the RCMP hope to clear the school as soon as possible, “recognizing that the community needs to heal.”
We’re wrapping up this live page. We’ll have more coverage at cbc.ca/news and cbc.ca/bc, where we’ll be following tonight’s vigil in Tumbler Ridge that will be attended by the prime minister and other federal political party leaders. The vigil is scheduled to start at 6:15 p.m. MST.
