It has been revealed that Tumbler Ridge mass shooting suspect Jesse Van Rootselaar had a history of mental illness, and that police made multiple visits to his family's home over the past few years.The attack claimed the lives of nine, and injured dozens more.BC RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne MacDonald provided more details during a press conference on Wednesday less than 24 hours after the attack — which claimed the lives of nine and left nearly 30 injured — took place.."We have a history of police attendance at the family residence," MacDonald said. "Some of those calls were partly related to mental health issues ... I can say that on different occasions, the suspect was apprehended for assessment and follow-up [under the Mental Health Act]." Van Rootselaar was born male, but "approximately six years ago began to transition to female."MacDonald said that while it was unknown whether Van Rootselaar had difficulty at school due to his gender identity, he "dropped out of school approximately four years ago and was not currently attending the school."He added that it was too early in the investigation to determine whether Van Rootselaar's gender identity was correlated to the shooting..MacDonald went on to note that some of the police visits involved firearms and self harm."Police have attended that residence in the past, approximately a couple years ago, where firearms were seized under the Criminal Code," he continued. "I can say that at a later point in time, the lawful owner of those firearms petitioned for those firearms to be returned, and they were."Criminal charges were not laid.MacDonald said authorities do not currently know whether Van Rootselaar was actively receiving treatment..EXCLUSIVE: Suspect in Tumbler Ridge mass shooting identified by locals as 'trans'.On Tuesday, the Western Standard spoke with local residents Liam Irving and Juan van Heerden, both of whom grew up seeing Van Rootselaar at school."He was a couple of years younger than us grades wise," Irving explained. "He was a chill kid, he was alright, but he definitely gave off that, you know, quiet one out kind of kid ... Like, he wasn't, you know, destructive or obnoxious."Van Heerden echoed his sentiments, labelling Van Rootselaar "a quiet kid."
