Mounties Praised as 'Heroes' for Drawing Fire in Tumbler Ridge School Shooting
RCMP officers who responded to the deadly mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on February 10, 2026, are being hailed as heroes for their swift and courageous actions. According to West Kelowna-Peachland MLA Macklin McCall, the Conservative party's critic for Public Safety and a former RCMP officer with two decades of experience, the Mounties likely faced fear and adrenaline but followed their training to protect civilians.
Swift Response and Deliberate Strategy
"Those RCMP officers from the local Tumbler Ridge RCMP detachment are heroes, quite frankly," McCall stated on Thursday. "Those officers responded in 120 seconds to an active threat at the school." Their primary goal was clear: to get the shooter to stop firing at civilians and instead engage with police. McCall confirmed that this strategy worked exactly as intended.
"That's literally what happened here," he explained. "The officers were getting shot at, actually. So, the shooter started engaging with the police officers and no officer was injured. And then the shooter, once facing the police officers, ended up taking their own life."
Details of the Incident
Police were alerted to the school shooting around 1:20 p.m. local time on February 10. The shooter was later identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a transgender female resident of Tumbler Ridge. Within minutes of the Mounties' arrival at the school, Van Rootselaar was found deceased with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald reported to reporters less than 24 hours later that "police did not return fire" despite "rounds were fired in their direction." At the scene, police recovered a long gun and a modified handgun. The tragedy resulted in eight fatalities, including the shooter's mother and stepbrother at their nearby home.
Bravery Under Pressure
McCall noted that only two officers from Tumbler Ridge's five-man detachment, located just two blocks from the school, were initially available to respond. "It is my understanding that, immediately, there was only two officers," he said. "You don't wait for back-up. You just go in. If they aren't going to go in, who's going to? That's the thing with police, they know sometimes you might have to go into a scene where you might not walk away from that scene, but you're the only person there. That's your job. You have to go in to protect the people and save lives."
Evolution of Police Tactics
This immediate response tactic marks a significant shift from past practices, influenced by events like the April 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, where 13 classmates and one teacher were murdered. McCall, who left the RCMP in November 2023, emphasized that active shooter training now prioritizes rapid intervention. "I've done the active shooter training that the RCMP puts on," he said. "You go in immediately; you don't wait. They used to do that, back in the day. You'd wait for back-up and go in. Well, if there's an active threat, you go in now, even if you're by yourself."
The Mounties' actions in Tumbler Ridge exemplify this modern approach, demonstrating extraordinary bravery in the face of grave danger to safeguard students and community members.
