Canada PM to mourn with grieving town, new details emerge on shooter

Carney is travelling to the Rocky Mountain mining town with the heads of all opposition parties, a show of national solidarity after one of the deadliest outbursts of violence in Canadian history.

In the days since Tuesday's killings at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, more information has emerged about both the victims and the shooter, an 18-year-old transgender woman named Jesse Van Rootselaar.

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer remained stationed outside Van Rootselaar's home on Friday.

The modest brown house on a quiet, unassuming street was cordoned-off with police tape. Two overturned bicycles rested against the snow in the front yard.

Van Rootselaar killed her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old stepbrother in the house before heading to the school, where she shot dead six more people -- five students and a teacher -- then killed herself.

The shooter's estranged father, Justin Van Rootselaar, has sent a statement to the public broadcaster CBC, offering condolences for a "senseless and unforgivable act of violence."

"As the biological father of the individual responsible, I carry a sorrow that is difficult to put into words," the statement said, according to the CBC.

The RCMP on Friday released a photo of the shooter -- who was known to have mental health issues. She is shown wearing a hoodie with an expressionless face.
Vigil at town hall
Carney is expected to lead a vigil for the victims outside the town hall in Tumbler Ridge, which was built 45 years ago, 1,180 kilometers (733 miles) north of Vancouver.

The town was quiet early Friday and residents have voiced weariness over the influx of media attention following the tragedy.

A sign ordering media to stay out was taped at the entrance of the community center on Friday.

But inside the center on Thursday, there were hints of life inching back towards normal, including an ice rink packed with children playing hockey or working on their skating.

In the evening, the mother of a victim, Sarah Lampert, addressed the media at the center, saying she wanted to speak for 12-year-old daughter Ticaria who had "a beautiful, strong voice that was silenced."

"She is forever my baby, because that's what she was. She was a baby," Lampert said, fighting to contain her tears as she addressed a room full of cameras.

Also killed at school was 12-year-old Zoey Benoit.

"She was so resilient, vibrant, smart, caring and the strongest little girl you could meet," a statement from her family said.

Peter Schofield's 13-year-old grandson Ezekial was one of the six murdered students.

"Everything feels so surreal. The tears just keep flowing," he posted on Facebook.

Carney made an emotional address to parliament after the shootings, saying "these children and their teachers bore witness to unheard-of cruelty."

He described Tumbler Ridge as a town of miners, teachers and construction workers who represent "the very best of Canada: resilient, compassionate and strong."

The prime minister had been scheduled to attend the Munich Security Conference to discuss transatlantic defense with allies, but cancelled his plans following the shooting.