🚨 NEW LAYER UNRAVELS in the Tumbler Ridge tragedy: What if the deepest wound was never outside the home… but right inside it? 💔😢

The quiet town is still reeling after an 18-year-old ended eight lives — starting with the person who raised her from birth: her own mother, Jennifer Strang.

People close to the story and online investigators are quietly asking the question no one wants to say out loud: Was the first heartbreak the one that broke everything else?

Years of moving cities, an estranged father who says he was shut out completely from the beginning, a childhood described in court papers as “almost nomadic,” and a home filled with tension that neighbors noticed but no one fully understood.

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One week after a devastating incident left eight people dead in this small northern community, investigators continue to search for answers while the town grapples with grief and unanswered questions about what led an 18-year-old to take such irreversible actions.

On February 10, 2026, Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, fatally shot her mother, Jennifer Strang, 39, and her 11-year-old half-brother, Emmett Jacobs, inside their family home on Fellers Avenue. She then proceeded to the nearby Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where additional lives were lost before she died by suicide. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have described the school incident as random rather than targeted, but the fact that the tragedy began at home — with the killing of her own mother — has kept family dynamics at the center of public discussion.

RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald told reporters on February 11 that no motive has been determined. “We are still in the early stages of the investigation,” he said. “We are not in a position to speculate on why this occurred.” Authorities have emphasized that Van Rootselaar acted alone and have released few details about what transpired inside the residence that morning.

Yet the sequence of events has led many observers, including some community members and online commentators, to wonder whether long-standing family difficulties played a significant role. Court records, public statements, and social media traces reveal a childhood marked by frequent relocations, parental separation, and limited contact with the biological father.

A 2015 British Columbia Supreme Court family law decision between Jennifer Strang and Justin Van Rootselaar described the children’s early years as “almost nomadic.” The judge noted repeated moves between Newfoundland and Labrador and various locations in British Columbia, including Grand Cache and Powell River. The ruling expressed concern about the impact of these relocations on the children and on the father’s ability to maintain a relationship, stating that Strang had made several unilateral decisions about where the family would live.

Justin Van Rootselaar, now residing in Surrey, B.C., released a brief but emotional public statement following the tragedy. “As the biological father of the individual responsible, I carry a sorrow that is difficult to put into words,” he wrote. “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 part of raising him.” He added that he had no contact with his child in recent years and expressed heartbreak for the victims and the wider community.

Jennifer Strang was the sole primary caregiver for much of Jesse’s life. Social media posts from her accounts over the years showed a woman navigating single parenthood, occasional romantic relationships, workplace injuries, and the challenges of raising children in remote areas. Some older photos depicted family outings, while others highlighted her support for her child’s interests — including hunting, outdoor activities, and later, gender transition.

Police records confirm multiple welfare checks and mental health-related calls to the family home in recent years. Van Rootselaar had been apprehended under the Mental Health Act on at least a few occasions, most recently in the spring of 2025. Neighbors reported occasional concerns about household stability, though no one described overt violence prior to February 10.

The biological father’s near-total absence from the child’s life has become a focal point for speculation. Court documents indicate that contact was minimal after the early years, and Justin Van Rootselaar stated he was never permitted to play an active parental role. Whether this long estrangement contributed to feelings of abandonment, resentment, or emotional isolation remains unknown — and may never be fully known.

Online archives from Van Rootselaar’s deleted accounts showed a teenager wrestling with identity, mental health challenges, and a sense of not belonging. Posts referenced diagnoses of ADHD, depression, autism spectrum traits, and OCD, as well as struggles with substance use and an intense interest in certain online content. The transition process, which began around age 12, was also documented in fragments — sometimes with hope, sometimes with frustration over delays or physical limitations.

In small towns like Tumbler Ridge, where many families know each other, the home has become a symbol of both privacy and mystery. Residents have spoken of a household where guns were part of rural life, but where tensions were also quietly noticed. One neighbor recalled a 2023 incident in which Van Rootselaar accidentally started a small fire in the home after consuming psychedelic mushrooms, an event that led to short-term psychiatric care but did not result in long-term removal from the residence.

Investigators continue to examine digital evidence, witness interviews, and forensic findings. No suicide note, manifesto, or final message has been made public. Police have stressed that the motive remains undetermined and cautioned against premature conclusions.

For the people of Tumbler Ridge, the loss of eight community members — including five middle-school students and a beloved education assistant — has left deep scars. Vigils have been held, support funds established, and Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to visit the town to meet with grieving families.

As the investigation proceeds slowly, one question lingers in many minds: Did years of family disconnection, frequent upheaval, and unspoken pain eventually become too much to contain? Or was the home simply the starting point of a larger, incomprehensible crisis?

No one may ever have a complete answer. But in a tragedy defined by silence as much as sorrow, the story of a mother and child — and the years that separated them from others — continues to haunt those left behind.