Demolition underway at B.C. school where eight died in February shooting
Excavators are tearing down Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, the site of a Feb. 10 mass shooting that killed eight people, including five children.
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Demolition is underway at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northern British Columbia, the site of a deadly mass shooting earlier this year.
Photos posted to social media show excavators tearing down the building's exterior walls, revealing pink insulation and metal scraps piled to one side. The school was the location of a Feb. 10 shooting that killed eight people: the shooter's mother and brother, killed in their nearby family home, and five children and an educational assistant at the school. The 18-year-old shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed herself as officers closed in.
The demolition comes after the provincial and federal governments pledged funding for a new secondary school at a different location. In a joint announcement on May 7, the governments said they were responding to a request from Peace River South School Board—made after consulting with victims, families, community members and experts—to build a new school and "ensure the current school is removed quickly and in a trauma-informed way."
Stu Bell, a former student at the school and now parent of teenagers in the community, shared photos of the demolition on social media Monday, saying he was "feeling a massive amount of relief." "The building must go," Bell wrote. The source material does not specify the funding amount or the timeline for completion of the new school.
By the numbers
How many people died in the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School shooting?
Eight people died in the February 10 shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia: the shooter's mother and brother at their nearby family home, plus five children and an educational assistant at the school.
When did the governments announce funding for a new school?
On May 7, 2026, the provincial and federal governments jointly announced funding for a new secondary school at a different location to replace Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
