{"id":91561,"date":"2026-02-12T09:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/?p=91561"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:23:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:23:38","slug":"mass-shooter-at-canadian-elementary-school-tweeted-antisemitic-content-2-days-before-attack-adl-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/mass-shooter-at-canadian-elementary-school-tweeted-antisemitic-content-2-days-before-attack-adl-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Mass shooter at Canadian elementary school tweeted antisemitic content 2 days before attack, ADL finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JACKIE HAJDENBERG<\/p>\n

(JTA) \u2014 The shooter who killed eight people and wounded dozens more in one of Canada\u2019s deadliest mass shootings Tuesday allegedly tweeted antisemitic content two days before the attack.<\/p>\n

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The playground at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School following a mass shooting on Feb. 10. (Paige Taylor White \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI need to hate jews because the zionists want me to hate jews. This benefits them, somehow,\u201d Jesse Van Rootselaar, the alleged Tumbler Ridge school shooter, tweeted on Sunday, according to research by the Anti-Defamation League\u2019s Center on Extremism.<\/p>\n

Authorities in British Columbia have identified Van Rootselaar, 18, as the shooter who killed six people at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and two family members at home before also dying, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.<\/p>\n

According to the ADL, Van Rootselar had a \u201ctroubling pattern of online radicalization\u201d that included using WatchPeopleDie, a platform that glorifies violence and has been linked to several mass violence events.<\/p>\n

The ADL also found what it believes to be Van Rootselar\u2019s X account, which it says \u201cregularly shared antisemitic and racist content and material glorifying previous mass killers, including the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooter and the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, the ADL said, \u201cThe Tumbler Ridge shooter\u2019s X profile photo also featured an image of the Christchurch shooter superimposed over a Sonnenrad, a neo-Nazi symbol, and a transgender pride flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other recent mass shooters have been WatchPeopleDie users. In August, alleged Minneapolis shooter Robin Westman entered a Catholic mass at an elementary school and allegedly used a gun featuring antisemitic and anti-Israel writing to kill two children and injure another 17 people before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The gun also included writing with the name of the man convicted of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, the 2018 mass shooting on a Pittsburgh synagogue.<\/p>\n

The alleged shooter behind the January 2025 Antioch High School shooting, Solomon Henderson, was found to have extensive online documents that praised Adolf Hitler and included links to \u201cgroyper\u201d content.<\/p>\n

Authorities in British Columbia say they cannot speculate on the motive of Van Rootselaar, who they said dropped out of school in Tumbler Ridge, a town of about 2,500, about four years ago. The dead included a 39-year-old teacher; five students, ages 12 to 13; and Van Rootselar\u2019s mother and 11-year-old stepbrother.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s attack was the deadliest mass shooting in Canada since a 2020 attack in Portapique, Nova Scotia, left 23 people dead, including the shooter. A gun buyback program was implemented days after that shooting, but has proven both logistically challenging and unpopular.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the students, the teachers, the parents, and every resident of Tumbler Ridge: all of Canada stands with you. May the memories of those lost be a blessing,\u201d Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement Wednesday morning. \u201cMay this community, which has shown its resilience so many times before, once again find the strength to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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