Photos showing the teenage gunman behind one ofCanada's deadliest mass shootingshave come to light, with one image capturing him grinning at the camera while gripping a rifle.
Van Rootselaar, 18, had been expelled fromTumbler Ridge Secondary Schoolin British Columbia before returning to carry out the attack. He died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after killing six people inside the building.
The images were shared by his grandmother on Facebook to mark his 14th birthday in 2021.
"Happy 14th birthday to our grandson Jesse !! Love you always !! XOXO," the post read.
In one deeply unsettling picture, Van Rootselaar sat beside a young child on a sofa, beaming at the camera with a rifle in his hands.
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His mother, named by CTV News as Jennifer Strang, 39, and his 11-year-old stepbrother were killed at a private address before he made his way to the school. Six further victims died inside Tumbler Ridge high school.
Approximately 25 people were wounded in total. Students and teachers who survived described hiding behind barricaded classroom doors for over two hours until law enforcement led them out of the building.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said Van Rootselaar was "born a biological male … who approximately six years ago began to transition to female, and identified as female."
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
