Family issue heartbreaking statement as girl, 12, identified as first victim of Canada school shooting
The family of a 12-year-old girl killed during the school shooting in British Columbia has been left 'completely devastated' by her death.
Kylie Smith was among the six people who were gunned down on Tuesday (10 February) at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. Police also found two more bodies in a nearby house.
Police have identified the suspect as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who was found dead with a self-inflicted injury.
Authorities said the teenager 'identified as female' and was a resident of Tumbler Ridge who had dropped out of the secondary school around four years ago.
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Deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald the two people found dead in a nearby house were Van Rootselaar's 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old step-brother.
A 39-year-old teacher and five pupils - two boys, aged 12 and 13, as well as three 12-year-old girls - were killed inside the school, police said.
Details about the victims at the high school are now beginning to emerge and the family of Kylie Smith, 12, announced that they had received the 'gut-wrenching news' that she was among the victims.
Kylie's father Lance Younge described her as the 'light of her family' while speaking to CTV News, saying: "She was just a beautiful soul. She loves art and anime.
"She wanted to go to school in Toronto, and we just loved her so much. She was thriving in high school. She never hurt a soul."
He explained that he had dropped Kylie and her 15-year-old brother off at the school on Tuesday morning and 'soaked in that moment' of watching them walk in together.
"I didn’t know it would be the last time," Lance said, before urging people to focus their attention on the victims rather than the perpetrator.
The devastated dad added: "You want to put someone’s picture up on the news? Put my daughter’s picture up.
"Let’s stop giving this psychopath the recognition, because these kids were lost before they got to become teenagers. Let’s put these pictures up, remember them and not this murderer.
"They’re amazing kids. All these families know each other, they grew up together. Hold your kids tight, tell them you love them every day. You never know, you never know."
In a GoFundMe, Kylie's aunt Shanon Dycke paid tribute to the 'beautiful' schoolgirl.
"She was just 12 years old," the fundraiser explained. "We are completely devastated and have no words as we try to process the magnitude of the situation.
"Our immediate family is located on Vancouver Island, but my sister just moved here from being in Tumbler Ridge for nearly 12 years.
"She hasn't seen her daughter in a few months and her son, Kylie's brother who just flew back up north from Vancouver Island, will need his mom more than ever right now.
"Kylie's dad and step mom are caring for her brother and step brother right now, and their world, our world, has crumbled."
Dycke explained the GoFundMe had been set up to help Kylie's family with 'travel costs or expenses in the coming weeks and months'.
"We will also be using the funds for a memorial for Kylie or as her parents see fit to remember the beautiful, kind, innocent soul she was," it added.
"My heart aches for the other families involved and for the loss of their children. I am so sorry. To the families with children still in the hospital; keep fighting. We are sending you prayers."
Royal Canadian Mounted Police deputy commissioner Dwayne McDonald said Van Rootselaar had a history of mental health contact with police, and that the suspect’s mother and stepbrother were also found dead in a home near the school. The motive remains unclear.
More than 25 people were wounded in the attack in the small mountain community of Tumbler Ridge, police said.
The attack was Canada’s deadliest rampage since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left another nine dead.
Topics: World News, Crime
Olivia Burke