Tumbler Ridge secondary school in British Columbia will be demolished over the summer and replaced with a new building constructed in a different part of the town, officials said. The school has remained closed since a shooting in February 2026 killed nine people.
Nine people were killed and dozens were injured when Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old former student of the school, opened fire during a school day in February 2026. Police found six people dead inside the school and later found two more victims, the shooter's sibling and mother, dead at a residence connected to the shooter. The shooter was found dead from a self-inflicted injury.
Since the shooting, some students have been attending classes in small portable classrooms on the school grounds. The school has not reopened in its original building since the incident.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said the decision to demolish the school followed meetings between the school board, survivors, family members, and community members. He said the school board heard that students, educators, staff, and others wanted to move to a new location.
"We want to do right by the survivors, the families and the people of Tumbler Ridge," Eby said. He said the provincial government was committed to building the new school as quickly as possible within its authority, and that the federal government would help fund the project.
The prime minister visited Tumbler Ridge with Eby and the mayor and committed that the federal government would be part of the effort to replace the school. The federal government confirmed it will work with the provincial government on the replacement, he said.
He said community members had supported one another and shown resilience since the shooting. He said his government would work to ensure that the children of Tumbler Ridge have a safe, comfortable, and healing place to return to school.