Tumbler Ridge shooter stole guns from family safe as part of attack plans, new court filings reveal
U.S. FBI court filings detail how arsenal of weapons was acquired
A shotgun, a scoped rifle and a submachine-gun.
Nearly eight months after the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., new details from U.S. investigators about the guns involved are renewing debate about Canada's gun control laws.
An FBI criminal complaint filed in Washington state this week offers a glimpse of the weapons Jesse Van Rootselaar allegedly spent months stockpiling before killing eight people on Feb. 10
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Rootselaar → steal → Feb.
The arsenal appears in photographs the FBI says the 18-year-old shared with an alleged accomplice — Bellingham, Wash., resident James Cody Bryant — who was arrested and charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country.
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who → appear → country
"Bringing 3 guns will ensure I don’t have problems,” Van Rootselaar wrote in one of their exchanges detailed in the document.
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Rootselaar → bring → document
"I might even bring 4 guns if I decide to make a handgun."
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I → bring → handgun
Bryant replied: "Should have a handgun if you can manage a print tbh."
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you → reply → print
RCMP still investigating
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RCMP → investigate → ?
Mounties have publicly released little detail about the weapons used in the mass shooting.
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Mounties → release → shooting
At the FBI's Tuesday press conference in Seattle, B.C. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Elija Rain said those details remain under a Canadian publication ban to protect an ongoing criminal investigation where charges remain "under active consideration."
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charges → say → consideration
"We may wish to speak with other people involved to determine where said weapons may have come from, other individuals who may have provided assistance with those weapons," Rain said.
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Rain → wish → weapons
"We don't want that information made public because it could jeopardize other evidence along the way.
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it → want → way
Items such as ammunition pouches and a submachine gun are modelled by Van Rootselaar and appear in photographs police say were sent to James Cody Bryant that were included in court documents.
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that → model → documents
Guns not from U.S., FBI says
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FBI → say → U.S.
Heidi Rathjen of PolySeSouvient, a gun control advocacy group, said learning new details from U.S. authorities — instead of the RCMP — about the weapons used in the Tumbler Ridge shooting is frustrating.
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learning → say → shooting
"In order to improve on our [gun control] laws and how they're being enforced, we have to know what went wrong" that made the attack possible, Rathjen told CBC's All Points West.
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Rathjen → improve → West
According to the criminal complaint documents, Van Rootselaar was "'institutionalized' after being deemed a danger to herself."
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Rootselaar → accord → herself
The documents say after Van Rootselaar's "second institutionalization, Bryant described Van Rootselaar as becoming significantly worse, including increasingly angry and suicidal."
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Bryant → say → Rootselaar
W. Mike Herrington, the special agent in charge of the FBI Seattle field office, said U.S. authorities "don’t have any indication that any guns were from the United States."
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guns → say → States
According to the FBI complaint, Van Rootselaar told Bryant "she had stolen guns and ammunition from her family’s gun safe and was hiding them in her room in preparation for a mass shooting."
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she → accord → shooting
The documents also indicate Van Rootselaar had access to a semi-automatic SKS rifle, a military-style weapon which is legal in Canada.
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which → indicate → Canada
The documents include messages with Bryant in which Van Rootselaar said the SKS had been "roughly confiscated" by police in the past, and claimed to possess a "switch" device for the rifle, which the FBI says likely referred to a "machine-gun conversion device."
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FBI → include → device
The complaint further alleges Van Rootselaar "convinced another person to purchase ammunition on her behalf" and asked Bryant several times to purchase 3D-printed gun kits and other parts.
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Rootselaar → allege → kits
"I’m not risking mailing that shit," Bryant said.
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Bryant → risk → shit
"Valid I guess," Van Rootselaar replied.
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Rootselaar → guess → ?
"You should bring it to me irl.
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You → bring → me
We can meet.
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We → meet → ?
Panel to review legality of SKS rifles, federal minister says
The FBI says there's no indication the two ever met in person.
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two → review → person
Among the photographs in the FBI complaint is one showing Van Rootselaar posing with an olive-green rifle with a telescopic sight on the morning of the attack.
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Rootselaar → show → attack
Another shows a Canuck brand shotgun, while a third image shows a firearm that retired RCMP weapons expert Frank Grosspietsch identified to The Canadian Press as a KRISS Vector submachine-gun, a model banned in Canada in 2024.
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Grosspietsch → show → 2024
Van Rootselaar holds a rifle in one of several photographs police say was sent to Bryant that are included in court documents.
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that → hold → documents
Bryant allegedly told the FBI that Van Rootselaar "ended up using some of these same items during the Tumbler Ridge shooting."
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Rootselaar → tell → shooting
The FBI complaint document says a short 20 second livestream before the school shooting showed Van Rootselaar "sitting in a vehicle with a rifle and another long gun in her lap.”
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Rootselaar → say → lap
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Wednesday an expert panel is reviewing whether SKS rifles should be banned in Canada.
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rifles → say → Canada
Deadly midday shooting in Montreal sparks renewed calls to ban SKS rifles
More stories from Northern B.C.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday with "constant changes" in firearms technology, the panel will give the federal government an "arms length, objective assessment" of their classifications.
"We need the advice directly of the professionals, the RCMP, on those that do not correspond to our laws and those decisions will be taken with that advice," Carney said.
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Carney → spark → advice
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