Podcast Summary: "Canada's Latest School Shooting: What We Know"

Podcast: It Could Happen Here (Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts)
Date: February 17, 2026
Host: Garrison Davis
Guest: Lance (from The Serfs)

Overview

This episode is a deep dive into the tragic February 10, 2026, school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia—Canada's deadliest such event since 1989. Host Garrison Davis and Lance from The Serfs examine the facts of the case, the aftermath in media and online spheres, the weaponization of identity and misinformation, and the broader patterns and social dynamics shaping incidents like these. The episode explores not only the narrative spun by far-right media but also counter-narratives, the online footprints and communities that attract or foster this kind of violence, and what systemic factors are at play.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Facts of the Shooting & Initial Reaction

• Victims & Shooter:

  • On February 10, 2026, 18-year-old Jesse Van Roetzlaer killed her mother and stepbrother at home, then went to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, killing 5 students, 1 teacher, and herself (00:00, 01:06).
  • Two other children were critically injured.
  • The shooter, a transgender girl, was a former student at the school but had dropped out years earlier.
  • The incident mirrors the Lelouch shooting 10 years prior.

• Victim Names Read:

  • Abel Wanza (12), Ezekiel Shofield (13), Kylie Smith (12), Zoe Benoit (12), Tearia Lampert (12), Shenda Evi Gwanda Duran (39), Emmett Jacobs (11), Jennifer Jacobs (39).
    (02:49)

• Canada's Mourning & Grief (02:49)

  • The hosts emphasize the small-town devastation and the families' request to center the victims’ names.

2. Misinformation and Far-Right Weaponization

• Immediate Online Reaction (03:30-05:15)

  • Right-wing accounts (e.g., Pleb Reporter, Juno News, Cat Canada) swiftly spread unverified claims and weaponized the tragedy for anti-trans narratives.
  • The US far-right (e.g., Donald Trump Jr., Matt Walsh, Libs of TikTok) rapidly amplify these narratives internationally, exploiting the event for their agendas.

• Deliberate Misidentification & Harassment (07:07-08:40)

  • Right-wing operatives falsely identified and doxxed a relative as the shooter based on early, incorrect reports, resulting in targeted harassment.
  • Mainstream media also mistakenly used an incorrect photo in at least one instance.

  “This person is now having to, like, lock down all of their accounts and is scared to go outside due to the horrific wave of harassment they're facing.”
  — Garrison Davis, (08:14)

• Data Manipulation & Disinformation (09:36-14:37)

  • Far-right claims were made that “trans girls make up the highest demographic of mass shooters per capita,” sharing fake graphs and grossly inflated numbers (“gunned down 35 kids”).
  • Garrison carefully addresses selection bias, definitional confusion, and correct statistics.
    • Mass killings by trans people are extremely rare ("The violence project has one transgender mass shooter in their database of about 195...").
    • Statistical fact-checking is emotionally ineffective when parents want immediate answers.

  “Once you’re arguing about statistics and semantics of terms when kids have died, you’re kind of already starting to lose the emotional battle.”
  — Garrison Davis, (13:24)

3. Counter-Narratives, Culture War, and Online Blame

• Trans Counter-Reactions and Conspiracy Spread (17:26-23:00)

  • Some trans and allied online communities react by blaming occurrences on "satanic Nazi pedophile" grooming groups (e.g., 09A, 764)—referencing real but differently-contextualized groups.
  • Viral speculation about shooter’s ties to neo-Nazism was based on faked online evidence; even the ADL was briefly misled.
  • The core: No verifiable connection existed between the shooter and these extremist groups.

  “The 09A/764 thing is more so like a meme at this point that people similarly deploy the same way that the right deploys... this epidemic of trans violence.”
  — Garrison Davis, (22:03)

  “It's much more like, like nihilistic and scattershot. And that's, like, uncomfortable. It's harder to understand... rather than just saying, you know, oh, it's another Nazi. Right? That's easy at this point, sadly.”
  — Garrison Davis, (23:53)

4. The Shooter’s Real Online Footprint and Obsession Patterns

• Documented History & Online Activity (24:54-33:25)

  • Early online activity involved gaming, hunting, and firearms (YouTube and Reddit).
  • In 2023, Jesse began to post about gender transition and struggles, as well as heavy psychedelic drug experimentation, mental health crises, and suicide ideation.
  • Diagnosed with ADHD, autism, depression, OCD; prescribed SSRIs, antipsychotics.
  • Activity shifted to forums like "Watch People Die," specializing in real-life gore and mass shooting content.
    • Displayed growing fascination with mass killings and shooter communities (TCC, "school shooter fandom").
    • Created a Roblox mass shooting simulator, watched, and discussed shooter "fan" content.
    • Expressed addiction to watching violence and described personal trauma and mental health collapse.

  “I find it addictive. It’s hard not to watch violent content. I’m just drawn to it... I never really saw any benefit. I think the R words in the comment section are more bothersome... than the videos.”
  — Jesse (quoted by Garrison Davis), (30:00-32:00)

  • Linked to other recent shooter cases in the US with similar social media patterns and obsessions.
  • The pattern points to a subculture obsessed with mass violence, nihilism, and “suicide through spectacle.”

5. Systemic Causal Factors & Deeper Analysis

• Rejecting Simple Explanations (33:25-41:18)

  • Rebuts blaming video games, SSRIs, or HRT as sole causes.
  • Emphasizes that transition was discussed in the context of relief, not as cause for distress in Jesse’s posts.
  • Highlights a confluence of marginalization, mental health, pandemic-level social disintegration/deregulation, and online subcultural exposure.

  “Prescribed estrogen is... not a causal force in this. We don't even know if Robin Westman or Jesse was even on estrogen... The cause of the distress are all these other things.”
  — Garrison Davis, (38:36)

  • Analysis rooted in Durkheim’s theory of “social deregulation”—individuals who are disconnected from the broader social fabric are at higher risk of both suicide and antisocial violence.
  • As the trans community grows, some incidents involving marginalized people may simply reflect statistical overlap, not identity-driven causality.
  • Public mass shootings retain a chilling “ritualistic,” suicidal character—targeting one’s social matrix (family, school).

  “Being trans is like a marginal position in society, right? And the people who commit school shootings and suicide through mass shootings are at the very, very extreme end of social dysregulation and... isolation.”
  — Garrison Davis, (39:30)

6. What Can Be Done? Policy and Prevention

• Societal-level Solutions & the Limits of Policing/Suppression (47:47-50:55)

  • Funding social services, increasing mental health support and oversight, and creating available “paths” in life are central.
  • Gun laws are relevant, but not the crux (Canada’s are strict, but violence still occurs in other ways elsewhere).
  • Awareness of online extremism subcultures is key—simple surveillance or bans just push at-risk youth into more marginal and dangerous spaces.
  • TCC/school shooter “fandom” is spreading to a growing, diverse base, not just “cisgender males.”

  “Funding social services can be an aspect of this. Having more comprehensive mental health care, free health care check-ins... But I mean, yes, solving these like larger social problems, that's like, that's the question of the 21st century.”
  — Garrison Davis, (48:24)

• Difficulties in Monitoring & Online Safety (49:30-51:38)

  • Parents and policymakers need to be alert to deep, niche social spaces where these threads develop.
  • Law enforcement and media historically behind the curve in recognizing and addressing these online phenomena.

7. Broader Media and Political Dynamics

• Slow Media & Law Enforcement Response (52:42-53:48)

  • Legacy media often “takes years” to report on major patterns in online radicalization.
  • The FBI and Canadian authorities behind the curve on new subcultures/platforms.

• Manipulation by Influencers and Political Figures (54:16-55:07)

  • Current US federal leadership and media personalities are actively pushing harmful and misleading anti-trans narratives after mass shooting events, regardless of evidence.
  • Lance expresses concern that the narrative around the shooter's parent (who refuses to acknowledge her gender identity) will be used to fuel further moral panic.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• "They profit off of human suffering and they try to spread as much of it as possible."
  — Garrison Davis (06:33)

• “This is not an epidemic of which like, oh my God, you. You have a high probability of being hurt by a trans person in your life. It couldn't be further from the truth.”
  — Lance (15:02)

• “Once you’re arguing about statistics and semantics of terms when kids have died, you’re already starting to lose the emotional battle.”
  — Garrison Davis (13:24)

• “I find it addictive. It’s hard not to watch violent content. I’m just drawn to it. I don’t think much of it...”
  — Jesse’s forum comment, quoted by Garrison Davis (30:00-32:00)

• “Public shootings like this have a very strong suicidal component. And some people might not be able to do that themselves. They need to create a social context in which they feel like they can. And at least in terms of the states and to a smaller degree in Canada, like these shootings like exist as like this like cultural ritual.”
  — Garrison Davis (36:55)

• “Parents being more aware of these sorts of like online spaces, the school shooter fandom, picking up signs of you know, social isolation, how much time your kid is just spending alone on the Internet and you might not be knowing what they're doing—solving that's, you know, hard...”
  — Garrison Davis (49:30)

Key Timestamps

• 01:06-02:49 — Episode setup, timeline, background on the shooter.
• 02:49-03:30 — Remembering victims; emotional tone.
• 03:30-06:38 — Online right-wing reaction & politicization.
• 07:07-08:40 — Harassment via misidentification.
• 09:36-14:37 — Disinformation, data manipulation, selection bias explained.
• 17:26-23:00 — Counter-narratives: 09A, 764, TCC memes explained and debunked.
• 24:54-33:25 — Shooter’s online footprint, mental health, and forum activity unpacked.
• 36:55-41:18 — Durkheim, mass shootings as cultural ritual, societal marginalization.
• 47:32-48:24 — Policy recs: social fabric, services, and care.
• 49:30-51:38 — Monitoring, online safety, and the limits/dilemmas in platform policing.
• 52:42-53:48 — Why media and law enforcement lag; patterns repeat.
• 54:16-55:07 — US political figures exploiting tragedy; concern for the future narrative.

Takeaways

• Misinformation about shooter identity and motive is rampant and often weaponized immediately.
• Statistically, mass shootings by transgender people are exceptionally rare.
• Proposed causal explanations (SSRIs, HRT, video games) are not supported; social isolation and deregulation are more explanatory.
• New online "school shooter fandoms" (TCC) play a growing role, but mainstream awareness, policy, and law enforcement lag behind these trends.
• Solutions must focus on improving mental health services, strengthening social fabric, and building social paths—rather than solely law enforcement or censorship.

This episode provides an evidence-based, sensitive, and systemic exploration of a complex modern tragedy, emphasizing the dangers of scapegoating and the importance of understanding deeper societal currents at play.