Canada school mass killer Jesse Van Rootselaar’s chilling Reddit posts | US | News

The social media history of Jesse Van Rootselaar, who killed eight people in one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canadian history, reveals a deeply troubled young man whose obsession with hallucinogenic drugs and firearms predates the massacre by years.

Archived posts from Reddit paint a disturbing picture of a young man who openly discussed his drug habits, struggles with mental health and gun collection in the years before the Tumbler Ridge school shooting.

Drug questions flagged years before massacre

“Hey, what is the danger of using 5-MeO-DMT alone?” He posed the question in a November 2023 thread, referring to a powerful hallucinogen nicknamed “frog poison” and described by some experts as the “Mount Everest of psychedelics.”

“I really don’t know, I’m not trying to die. I do N,N-DMT frequently and it seems perfectly safe for me,” he said, referring to other powerful hallucinogenic substances.

The same posts revealed that he was taking a cocktail of psychiatric medications while continuing to experiment with illegal substances.

“I take 280mg of Sertraline (SSRI). Occasionally I take 2mg of Risperidone (Anti-Psychotic) for sleep purposes. I also smoke some weed,” he wrote, noting that he had previously experienced a “complete mental breakdown” while taking moderate doses of magic mushrooms.

Reddit posts also disclosed a number of mental health diagnoses, including ADHD, OCD, major depressive disorder, and autism spectrum disorder.

Psychiatric ward did not stop drug use

A post published in October 2023 revealed that Van Rootselaar had recently been discharged from a psychiatric unit, but was already considering further drug trials.

“Hi, I’ll keep this short. It’s 4 a.m., I got out of the psych ward a month ago and now I’m here,” the post begins.

“I tried mushrooms once, it was an immeasurably small dose and it was cold. The second time I tried it, I added 3 grams of Blue Meanie to some peanut butter and I was completely disconnected from reality and did a lot of irrational things, it felt like I was dreaming. There were many consequences.”

April 2024 activity on the platform grew increasingly bizarre, with one thread asking: “Can someone theoretically extract the effects of a substance from an addict’s urine?” – an idea he said he got from the lyrics.

Gun obsession documented online

Along with his drug posts, Van Rootselaar also used Reddit to show off his firearms; The Chinese SKS semi-automatic rifle was featured prominently on a specialized weapons forum.

A separate post showed him at the shooting range with a gold-plated pistol. “I blew up the desert eagles!” he wrote alongside a video of him firing the gun.

Police had prior contact with the gunman

Authorities confirmed at a news conference Wednesday that Van Rootselaar had come to their attention before the shootings. His address had been visited several times by officers and Van Rootselaar had been made subject to a mental health warrant on at least two occasions.

The firearms had been taken from the property in a previous incident, but were returned when the person in legal possession formally requested their return. This owner has not been identified.

8 people died in school library massacre

After shooting his mother, Jennifer, and his 11-year-old step-sister to death at home, Van Rootselaar went to Tumbler Ridge Middle School and opened fire. A teacher and five students aged between 12 and 13 lost their lives in the attack, which concentrated on the school library.

He died by his own hand after the attack.

Wednesday’s press conference heard that Van Rootselaar was assigned male at birth and began transitioning to female about six years ago.