Gunman who shot up school killing 9 in Canada is believed to have mental illness

Illustration of the shooting. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Canadian police are tracing the mental health file of the perpetrator of the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge High School, British Columbia, Canada.

The shooting on Tuesday, February 10, killed 9 people, including the perpetrator who committed suicide after the action.

"We have started the process of contacting the public health care system to understand what interactions may have occurred," British Columbia, Canada, Prime Minister David Eby said at a press conference outside the Tumbler Ridge City Hall on Wednesday night local time, quoted from AFP, Thursday, February 12.

Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Police in British Columbia, Dwayne McDonald, said the perpetrator was named Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old transgender teenager who four years ago dropped out of high school which was the target of his shooting.

He said that the search for mental health files from health service providers in Canada was also to investigate the motive for the shooting.

The mental disorder tendency is possible considering the perpetrator killed his mother and step-sister before shooting dead six others at Tumbler Ridge High School and decided to commit suicide.

One of the victims of the shooting of the perpetrator Maya Gebala, who is 12 years old, is still in critical condition on Wednesday night local time. His aunt, Krystal Hunt, told CBC, the victim is fighting for his life after being shot in the head and neck.

In the records of the authorities, the perpetrator has a permit to own firearms but it has expired. Meanwhile, the weapons found at the crime scene had previously been confiscated by the police, but were eventually returned.

"I have a lot of questions. I know Tumbler Ridge residents also have a lot of questions," added David Eby.

He said officials were open to a variety of input to "prevent tragedies like this from happening again."

In Tumbler Ridge, a small town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains B.C. foothills, hundreds of people have mourned and gathered for a joint prayer event by lighting candles. They have minimal contact with one of the victims because of their warm environment with a population of 2,400 people.

"I can't understand it," said Emphraim Almazan, a local miner who moved three years ago to Tumbler Ridge.

"I was like, there's no way this is happening in Tumbler Ridge," Almazan said.