‘The little kids are gone’: Teacher, student recall horrific day of Tumbler Ridge shootings

B.C. marked an official day of mourning Thursday in the wake of the shooting in Tumbler Ridge.

At a growing memorial in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., people are paying tribute to the victims of one of Canada’s worst mass shootings.

But for those inside the school when the gunfire erupted, there are also haunting recollections of what happened.

Dennis Meehan, 13, said at first, he didn’t know what he was hearing.

“I thought it was someone dropping something, and then I heard it again, and I knew it was a gunshot,” he recalled.

He said his teacher quickly got students behind her desk, barricading the door.

Other teachers also acted quickly to protect the children.

Jarbas Noronha was teaching a mechanics class when a student told him about hearing shots fired.

“We knew there was a real situation. And my goal at the time was: I have these 15 kids … I want these 15 kids to be safe,” he said, explaining that students helped him barricade the doors with heavy tables.

“The whole idea is if somebody was trying break in, it would buy us some time,” said Noronha.

But other children in the school, a place that is supposed to be safe, could not be protected from the shooter.

Noronha said he had taught some of the victims in a class just an hour before the chaos began.

“That’s the hardest part. The little kids are gone,” an emotional Noronha said.

Five children, aged 12 and 13 years old, along with a 39-year-old educator were killed in the school.

Two other victims were found at the shooter’s home.

Those killed inside the school were students Abel Mwansa, Ezekiel Schofield, Kylie Smith, Zoey Benoit, and Ticaria Lampert. Educator Shannda Aviugana-Durand, 39, was also killed.

The victims from the shooter’s residence were her sibling Emmett Jacobs, 11, and mother, Jennifer Jacobs, 39.

Police have said the shooter was Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, who was “born as a biological male” and “identified as female, both socially and publicly.”

RCMP said Wednesday that they had attended her home on multiple occasions because of her mental health issues.

Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko said that while all the information surrounding the shooter is not known, she believes more mental health services are needed in B.C. to prevent future tragedies.

“Seeing that we had a mass murder happen in Vancouver just under 10 months ago, and to see now a mass murder take place in a small rural community, shows that the gap in services is so vast in this province, the lack of care is so vast in this province,” she said.

Meanwhile, mental health resources are being deployed to Tumbler Ridge in the wake of the shootings.

“All the other regional health authorities across the province are deploying staff to support us as well so we can have the mental health clinicians, psychiatric nursing support available here for people to connect with, whenever they need it,” said Ciro Panessa, Northern Health CEO.