As the sun set in the grief-stricken Canadian town of Tumbler Ridge on Wednesday, hundreds gathered in a main square, lighting candles for victims of one of the country’s worst-ever mass shootings.
When the ceremony ended and a bitter cold set in, mourners brought their candles to the base of a large tree, where photos of some of the victims were laid.
Several people sobbed, with one teenage girl repeatedly saying “it’s not fair,” as she cried.
Police identified the shooter as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a transgender woman known to have mental health issues.
She took her own life after shooting her mother and stepbrother at a residence, then six others at the local secondary school, which she dropped out of four years ago.
Addressing the vigil, Tumbler Ridge mayor Darryl Krakowka said it was crucial the tightly-knit community remain united.
“This is like one big family,” he told the crowd, reinforcing a message of closeness voiced by many since Tuesday’s massacre.
“If you need a hug, put your hand out,” he said. “Reach out to your neighbor.”
School shootings are extremely rare in Canada, which has strict gun laws, and nearly everyone in the town has a direct connection to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
“Schools should be safe,” Gigi Rejano, who works at a local restaurant, told AFP at the vigil, calling for the entrance of the school building to be guarded from now on.
Krakowka acknowledged the shock of learning that the local school was targeted.
“That’s where children are supposed to go and learn and be safe and be with peers and grow into adults,” he said.
But the mayor also pointed to a possibility shared by others at the vigil — that the picturesque mining town in the foothills of the Rockies will be identified by this killing indefinitely.
“We’re here to support these families, forever,” he said.
Retiree Kevin Matthews told AFP he had lived in Tumbler Ridge for more than two decades and that nearly everyone in town had some connection to a victim.
“The path forward is to be with grieving families,” he said.
AFP