Canada school shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, deliberately started a fire that ‘almost completely burnt down’ the family home in a bid to ‘kill’ her mum and stepbrother, according to a neighbour
A teenager who murdered eight people in a horror school shooting in Canada had previously tried to kill her family by starting a house fire, a neighbour has said.
Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old who identified as female, killed her 11-year-old stepbrother and mum Jennifer Strang, 39, on Tuesday before opening fire at pupils at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia.
Five students and a teacher were killed, while another 25 were injured. Van Rootselaar was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Detectives continue to piece together the motive for the shooting.
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One neighbour living a few doors down from the troubled teen has now revealed that Van Rootselaar once deliberately set fire to the family home in a sick bid to kill her parents – and sat emotionless in the front garden as she waited for emergency services to arrive.
Recalling the incident, which took place in 2023, Melanie told the Telegraph: “A couple of years back, he lit their house on fire because he was trying to kill his own family… it almost completely burnt down.
“He was just sitting out in the front when the fire trucks arrived.”
She went on to say “everyone on the street saw the blaze”, but claimed Van Rootselaar’s involvement was “dismissed” by police at the time.
Van Rootselaar appeared to claim the incident was sparked by her use of hallucinogenic drugs, writing later on social media: “I went crazy and burnt my house down my second time trying shrooms but still have a desire to try alternatives”.
A YouTube channel belonging to the teenager shared by her mother on Facebook back in 2021 meanwhile showed an interest in hunting, “self reliance”, and guns.
Two guns were retrieved from the school after the shooting and another two from the family home, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said last night. An unregistered shotgun is believed to have been used by Van Rootselaar to kill her mum and stepbrother, with different weapons, including a modified handgun, wielded in the school attack.
Forensic work at the secondary school and the suspect’s home is expected to be completed this weekend.
In their latest update on the investigation, a police spokesperson said: “It is expected that forensic work underway at Tumbler Ridge Secondary will continue through the weekend and the home could be finished by tomorrow.
“We have prioritised the analysis of the two firearms (long gun and a rifle that had been modified) seized from the school and two firearms, including a shotgun, seized among a number of other firearms, at the residence.
“The shotgun is believed to be involved the homicides at the home and has never been previously seized by police. Our investigation has also determined the main firearm believed to be used in the mass shooting at the school has never been seized by the RCMP and its origin is unknown. Efforts continue to identify the owners and source of all other firearms.”
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