Police know who carried out Tuesday's massacre at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. They're just not saying.
Ten people are dead and 27 injured after an attack that tore through this remote British Columbia high school, leaving a tight-knit mountain community of 2,400 trying to make sense of the unspeakable. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have identified the person responsible but are refusing to release a name, citing privacy concerns and an active investigation.
That hasn't stopped family members from speaking out. Russell G. Strangtold Juno Newshis nephew Jesse Strang, 18, was transgender and responsible for the shooting. A YouTube account believed to belong to Jesse displays the transgender flag and uses she/her pronouns. RCMP haven't confirmed any of this.
What they will say is that the suspect died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The violence began around 1.20 p.m. local time on 10 February when officers got reports of an active shooter inside the school. Six people lay dead inside the building by the time police cleared the scene. A seventh victim died whilst being rushed to the hospital. Officers later found two more bodies at a nearby house they believe is linked to the school attack,the RCMP said. The suspected shooter was found dead at the school.
The emergency alert wasn't cancelled until 5.45 p.m. Four and a half hours of terror in a place where everyone knows everyone.
UNCONFIRMEDThe Tumbler Ridge school shooting suspect has been identified as 17-year-old Jesse Strang. A YouTube account believed to be linked to him displays a transgender flag.pic.twitter.com/IifIDv7J40
Tumbler Ridge sits in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, more than 1,100 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. It's the kind of place where 175 secondary school students feels normal, where the mayor can credibly claim to know every victim personally,Al Jazeera reported.
Darryl Krakowka broke down when he heard how many had died. 'It's devastating,' he said. 'I have lived here for 18 years. I probably know every one of the victims. I don't call them residents. I call them family.'
Darian Quist, a Year 12 pupil, spent more than two hours barricaded inside his classroom with other students after the lockdown alarm sounded. They stacked tables against the door and waited. His mother, Shelley, stayed on the phone with him the entire time, listening as her son and his classmates tried to stay quiet, tried to stay calm. She could hear the moment police finally arrived to escort them out,CBC reported.
Source: International Business Times UK
