BC to Demolish Tumbler Ridge School After Shooting

British Columbia Premier David Eby announced Thursday that Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, the site of a deadly mass shooting on February 10, will be torn down and replaced with a new facility on a different site.

The decision by School District 59 followed consultations with survivors, victims' families, educators, staff and the broader community of the remote northern community, Eby said during a news conference at the legislature in Victoria. "The direction of the community is clear, they wanted to go with a new school on a new site," he said.

The attack began when shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar killed her mother and half-brother at their home before proceeding to the school, where she fatally shot five students and an educational assistant. Van Rootselaar then took her own life. Students and staff have continued classes in portable classrooms since the incident.

Eby, who visited Tumbler Ridge shortly after the shooting, reiterated a promise that students would not return to the existing building. The province and federal government will jointly fund the project, covering demolition of the old school, remediation of the site and construction of the replacement. No cost estimates...