New bathrooms and classroom units: School portables set to arrive, classes to resume as Tumbler Ridge B.C. returns to normal a week after fatal shooting
According to the Canadian Press, the British Columbia government said portable facilities are coming to Tumbler Ridge in BC. This would allow children to return to school following a deadly shooting that left the community fearful. Among the dead were six children aged 11 to 13, according to CBC News.
Police initially said nine people died in the tragic incident, but Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald announced on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, that there were eight deaths, AP reported.
McDonald said the discrepancy was due to a victim being airlifted to a medical center. Authorities mistakenly thought that person was dead. More than 25 people were injured.
New facilities will be brought to the school
The new facilities will be built on the nearby Tumbler Ridge Elementary School grounds, the BC government said in a press release, according to the Canadian Press. Within the scope of the planned facilities, bathrooms came first on Monday, February 16, 2026, followed by classroom units on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 and Wednesday, February 18, 2026.
In the shooting incident, five students and a teacher’s aide were shot to death after Rootselaar killed his mother and 11-year-old half-brother in their home at Tumbler Ridge Middle School.
Police said Rootselaar was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted wound following an attack on a school in the small mountain area of Tumbler Ridge.
‘We grieve for the families of Tumbler Ridge’: BC Premier David Eby
In a statement on Family Day in British Columbia on Monday, British Columbia Premier David Eby said the province commemorates the holiday with sadness. “We sympathize with the families of Tumbler Ridge. We keep them in our prayers and stand with them in their pain and grief,” he said, according to The Canadian Press.
“On Family Day, we spend time with the people we love and who are important to us. This day gives us the opportunity to reflect on the importance of the family we are both born into and the family we build. Family is a pillar of support in uncertain times. We can all find comfort and support in our families.”
The Eby government also noted that the single-wide trailers arriving this week are the first phase of resuming classes in a safe environment for Tumbler Ridge Secondary School students.
