Media consortium seeks Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooting documents

People bring flowers and stuffed animals to a vigil for the victims of a mass shooting, in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

VANCOUVER — A consortium of media outlets has gone to court in B.C. to obtain information about guns used in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting and the firearms seized from the home of the attacker.

The consortium, which includes The Canadian Press, was in provincial court in Vancouver on Friday seeking “information to obtain” documents that were filed in court by police seeking search warrants.

The hearing was adjourned without setting a date for the next appearance.

The attack in February by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar left eight victims dead in the remote northeastern B.C. community, including her mother and brother, who were killed in the family home.

Van Rootselaar then shot dead five children and an educational assistant at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School before killing herself.

Earlier this week, the B.C. government announced it plans to pursue legal action against artificial intelligence company OpenAI in the case, having hired lawyers both in Canada and in California.

The shooter had troubling interactions with OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot before the shooting took place, and those interactions were flagged by the company but not forwarded to the police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2026.