B.C.’s chief coroner has announced an inquest into the events that happened in Tumbler Ridge on Feb. 10.
Dr. Jatinder Baidwan said at a press conference on Tuesday that “the news that an individual had killed two adults and six children in a private residence and a local secondary school quickly spread across national and international media. With that, came passionate public discussions about mental health and possible gaps in support systems.”
He said it is the BC Coroners Service’s responsibility to reinforce confidence in the system and support public safety in the province when it comes to all sudden, unnatural and unexpected deaths and all children’s deaths.
“An inquest will provide an independent and transparent forum to publicly examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths, assess systemic and procedural issues, and make evidence-based recommendations aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future,” Baidwan said in a statement.
“Importantly, it will involve the participation of the people in British Columbia through a jury of five to seven people.”
A date for the inquest has not yet been announced.
Jesse VanRootselaar shot dead her mother and 11-year-old half-brother at their home, before killing five pupils, a teacher’s aide and then herself, at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Feb. 10.
Federal Conservative MPs have been among those calling for an independent investigation.
Bob Zimmer, whose riding includes Tumbler Ridge in northeastern B.C., said over the weekend that mourning families need answers about the shooter’s mental health and access to guns, as well as the role of artificial intelligence and the protection of the victims’ families.
VanRootselaar’s ChatGPT account was flagged internally for worrisome content and it was shut down by OpenAI last June, but the company did not notify police at the time.
-with files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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