Radio-Canada has issued a public apology for failing to properly confirm that an image purportedly of the Tumbler Ridge shooting suspect was, in fact, the right person.The individual in the image shared by the public broadcaster turned out to be a random person from Ontario."We sincerely apologize for publishing a photo late in the afternoon on February 11 that we presented as being of the perpetrator of the shooting in Tumbler Ridge, but which turned out to be a photo of someone else," Radio-Canada wrote. "This photo was broadcast online and on our airwaves."The outlet explained that the image "had already been published by other Canadian media outlets and was circulating online," and that editors "authorized the publication of this photo after consulting a credible source who had known the suspect personally since childhood.""An error in our internal communications led us to mistakenly conclude that the photo was indeed that of the perpetrator of the shooting," they admitted. "In the hours that followed, we received information indicating a possible misidentification, and we immediately removed the photo from our platforms while we conducted additional checks that confirmed the misidentification."The mother of the person misidentified as the shooter told the Western Standard she and her child were "devastated" by the mistake, calling claims they were tied to the incident "ridiculous and disturbing."The actual suspect, Jesse Strang (legal name Van Rootselaar), was identified Tuesday evening by independent outlets, including the Western Standard, via locals in Tumbler Ridge, who also confirmed that the aforementioned image circulating online was not him.
