Vigil held in Fort St. John in aftermath of Tumbler Ridge school tragedy

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. —The Fort St. John community held a vigil to stand in support of the Tumbler Ridge community after the deadly school shooting this week. 

Members of the Fort St. John community gathered at City Hall on Wednesday, February 11th at 7 p.m. to keep vigil for the Tumbler Ridge community after the tragic shooting. 

This comes after eight people were killed by a shooter, who also died, in Tumbler Ridge on the afternoon of February 10th. 

BC RCMP deputy commissioner, Dwayne McDonald, named 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a resident of Tumbler Ridge, as the shooter in a press conference on February 11th. 

Victims from this shooting include a 39-year-old female teacher, three 12-year-old girls and two boys between the ages of 12 and 13. 

Two additional victims, a 39-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy, were found dead in a local residence nearby – they are believed to be related to Rootselar and their first victims.

Nikki Clarkson, a resident of Fort St. John who attended the vigil, told Energeticcity.ca it’s “devastating”. 

She said: “Tumbler Ridge and Fort St. John is so connected, I call them our little sister city.

“I just want Tumbler [Ridge] to know that we love them, we’re here as family with them and anything beyond that is put aside.” 

For Colleen Hall, who laid flowers at the vigil, a lot of “unification” and “difficult conversations” are needed.

She told Energeticcity.ca: “[I’m here] to mourn the loss of our babies, our families and our communities. We need a lot of unification and we need to come together in peace. 

“But we also need to open up conversations that are difficult and we need to look things head-on and we need to change things.” 

Hall said: “Our prayers are with them, we love them and we’re praying for their babies to pull through, the ones that are in recovery and trying to heal, we pray for the families that are grieving and all the loved ones in the community affected by this.”

Natalee Baxter, a new mother who attended the vigil, told Energeticcity.ca this incident hits hard.

She said: “I’m friends with one of the mothers who got their daughter shot – Paige’s mom, I’m friends with her and Maya also. 

“I actually just recently had my daughter, so this hits hard for me.” 

When asked if she had a message for the community of Tumbler Ridge, she said: “We are very sorry for your guys’ loss and sending prayers and condolences to your guys’ families and we wish you guys the best in the future and everybody is watching over you.”