More than three months after a mass shooting claimed eight lives in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., gun control advocacy groups are escalating pressure on the RCMP to release critical details about the firearms involved—details they say the public deserves to know.
PolySeSouvient and Danforth Families for Safe Communities are demanding transparency on what types of guns were used and how the shooter obtained them. The groups argue that a century of silence is unacceptable when Canadians are trying to have an informed conversation about gun violence and safety.
"People Are Filling in the Blanks"
Ken Price, spokesperson for Danforth for Safe Communities, warned that the information vacuum is dangerous. Without clear facts from authorities, he says, misinformation spreads across social media and crowds out evidence-based discussion.
"My biggest fear is that a lot of this stuff gets filled in," Price said. "If you don't have authorities speaking quickly and factually about what they've discovered, people draw their own conclusions."
The RCMP has confirmed several key facts: the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, had a history of police contact at the family home, including calls related to mental health crises. Van Rootselaar was apprehended under the Mental Health Act on at least one occasion and transported to hospital for assessment. Her firearms licence had expired in 2024.
The Gap in the System
Perhaps most troubling to advocates: firearms were seized from the residence two years earlier under the Criminal Code but were later returned after a petition from the lawful owner. Two additional firearms were flagged for priority assessment. The gun used in the shootings was not previously known to police.
Heidi Rathjen, coordinator for PolySeSouvient and a survivor of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, says the pattern raises urgent questions about how someone experiencing documented mental health crises retained access to weapons.
"When it comes to saving lives, there is no time to wait when information will not compromise any investigation, but it will inform the political debate about what to do," Rathjen said. "In this case, somebody fell through the cracks. And we need to know how that happened."
Legal Battle for Transparency
CBC News is part of a consortium of media outlets pursuing legal action to obtain information about the firearms used and those seized from the family residence. The groups argue that public disclosure of these details—once an investigation is complete—is essential to preventing future tragedies.
The February shooting left eight people dead, including Van Rootselaar's mother, half-brother, five secondary school students, and an educational assistant. Two others were hospitalized. The shooter then took her own life.
This story is based on reporting from CBC News. Read the original investigation at CBC News.