Tumbler Ridge shooter's father says he 'was not given the opportunity' to raise him

Shooter's father speaks

Photo: The Canadian Press

People attend a vigil to honour the victims of a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026.

The biological father of the suspected Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooter issued a statement to media outlets this week, speaking of the grief and sorrow he shares with victims the aftermath of the tragic event.

In a letter sent to CBC and Global News, Justin VanRootselaar said as the “biological father” of the individual accused of killing six children and two adults, he carries a sorrow that is “too difficult to put into words.”

‘I was estranged from Jesse Strang (VanRootselaar) and was not part of his life. His mother declined my involvement from the beginning, and I was not given the opportunity to be a part of raising him,” VanRootselaar said.

“Jesse did not use the VanRootselaar family name at any point in his life. While that distance is the reality of our relationship, it does not lessen the heartbreak I feel for the pain that has been caused to innocent people and to the town we call home.”

While VanRootselaar referred to the suspect with male pronouns, police have said Jesse VanRootselaar was born male and started identifying publicly and socially as a female six years ago.

Contention between the suspect’s parents was spelled out in a B.C. court document from 2015.

It said Jennifer moved with her children to Newfoundland because she was pregnant. She said she wanted to be closer to family. However, she did not provide Justin with 60 days’ notice, as is required by the Family Law Act.

In the court ruling, Justice Anthony Saunders blamed Jennifer Jacobs’ “nomadic lifestyle” for the father not having vigorously pursued his parental rights. A Facebook account that appears to belong to Jacobs lists her hometown as Lawn, Nfld. She had five children, according to a 2018 post.

“Ms. Strang acknowledges in her affidavit that there have been at least months at a time when Mr. Vanrootselaar has had no idea where the children have been,” Saunders noted.

Police have said they made multiple visits for mental health concerns to the split-level home in Tumbler Ridge that Van Rootselaar shared with her mother, and 11-year-old stepbrother, Emmett Jacobs.

RCMP say Van Rootselaar, 18, killed them both in the family home before continuing a killing spree at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where a teacher's aide and five children were shot dead.

The shooter had been apprehended multiple times under B.C.'s Mental Health Act, and had dropped out of school four years ago, police say.

Text of the full statement

There are moments when words feel far too small for the sorrow we are carrying together. What has happened has left an ache in the heart of our town that will not soon fade. In a place where we know each other by name, where we pass one another in the grocery store and gather at the same community events, this loss feels deeply personal to us all.

To the families who have lost loved ones, and to every person who has been affected by this senseless and unforgivable act of violence, I offer my most heartfelt condolences. I cannot begin to imagine the depth of your grief. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and that I share in the profound sadness that has settled over our community.

As the biological father of the individual responsible, I carry a sorrow that is difficult to put into words. I was estranged from Jesse Strang and was not part of his life. His mother declined my involvement from the beginning, and I was not given the opportunity to be a part of raising him.

Jesse did not use the VanRootselaar family name at any point in his life. While that distance is the reality of our relationship, it does not lessen the heartbreak I feel for the pain that has been caused to innocent people and to the town we call home.

This is a time for compassion, for holding one another close, and for supporting the families who are grieving such unimaginable loss.

As we respect your grief, we respectfully ask that you also respect ours. There will be no further statements.

With deepest sympathy,

Justin VanRootselaar