Canadian officials have announced they will demolish the school that was the site of one of the country's deadliest mass shootings. The decision came after meetings between the school board, survivors, victims' families and the local community.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said: 'We want to make sure we do right by the survivors, by the families, and by the people of Tumbler Ridge. The school board found that the majority of students, teachers and staff want to move to a new location.'
The shooting occurred in February when 18-year-old former student Jesse Van Rootselaar opened fire during class time. Nine people were killed and dozens wounded. Police found six bodies inside the school, along with two other victims – the shooter's sister and mother – at a residential area. The shooter was later found to have killed himself.
Speaking at a memorial a few days after the tragedy, Premier Eby promised the community that Tumbler Ridge students would never have to return to the low-rise brick building where the tragedy happened. 'We will provide a safe place for them to go to school,' he said at the event attended by political leaders from across the country.
The school will be demolished during the summer and a new building erected elsewhere in the remote mountain town. Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has remained closed since the shooting, with students attending classes in small portable units on campus.
Eby pledged: 'As a provincial government, we will build the new school as fast as we are able. When the prime minister came to Tumbler Ridge with me, he also committed that the federal government would be part of this effort.'
The premier praised the community's heroism, courage and resilience over recent months. He vowed to work to ensure 'Tumbler Ridge students have a safe, comfortable and healing place to return to school.'
