Before the Tumbler Ridge shooter was officially identified by the RCMP on Wednesday, media outlets and social media accounts had already laid blame—twice—on the wrong person.
Within hours of the Feb. 10 tragedy, a woman from Ontario was being falsely identified online as the suspect in the mass shooting that left nine people dead in Tumbler Ridge. Posts circulating on X, Instagram, and Facebook shared photos of a woman with curly hair, claiming she carried out the attack at a school and a nearby home. Some posts included transphobic comments.
Reverse image searches traced the photo to a Facebook profile of Zylii Strang. Her mother, Krista, confirmed to AFP that her daughter is alive and living in Ontario. A LinkedIn profile on AFP’s website also listed her work history in the province. Krista told AFP that her daughter was 25 years old, seven years older than the age for Van Rootselaar. She said Zylii was “devastated” by the situation and afraid to go outside after being misidentified.
“I don’t understand how (her profile) was linked to this crime other than my child being transgender and having (the) last name Strang,” Krista Strang said in a direct message to AFP on February 11, 2026.
“We would like to advise that an individual in Ontario, with a similar name to the person associated with our incident, has had been wrongly accused of being responsible,” Dept. Comm. Dwayne McDonald of the RCMP said Friday during a press conference in Tumbler Ridge. “Zylii – this did not need to happen. We know you are not involved.”
Tumbler Ridgelines attempted to contact Krista ourselves but was unsuccessful. AFP noted that early reports from some outlets misidentified the suspect’s last name as “Strang,” likely contributing to the spread of the false claims.
A second misidentification circulated on X and Instagram, showing a person in a pink tank top holding a firearm and labelling them as the 18-year-old identified by police as the shooter. This, too, was false.
AFP traced the image to a social media user known as Vrillium, a self-described far-right commentator. Vrillium shared the photo on an Instagram Story on Feb. 11, listing his name as William Sexton, and wrote: “Insane I have to say this: No, I’m not the trans shooter from Canada.” (An Instagram Story is a feature where photos, videos, or text disappear after 24 hours.)
According to AFP Canada, these posts were widely circulated and amplified by multiple online accounts. This situation highlights how quickly misinformation can spread online, especially during highemotion news events.
The RCMP confirmed the actual suspect was 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, a Tumbler Ridge resident who died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. Emergency responders found six people shot dead at the school, two others killed at a nearby residence, and 25 wounded.
BC RCMP is sharing a confirmed image of Jesse, and is urging the public and media to use verified information and confirm accuracy of images.
On Feb 11, “The Pleb”, which tends to refer to a political content creator known as “The Pleb Reporter”, a YouTuber and livestreamer who covers Canadian politics from a conservative perspective posted an apology at 1:06 am stating “I have also been proactively reaching out to accounts sharing the same unverified image to encourage its removal so others do not repeat the mistake.” He added, “Speed is never an excuse for inaccuracy and I will exercise greater caution moving forward. Sincere apologies for contributing to any confusion.
In a statement released to national media, Jesse’s father, Justin Vanrootselaar, stated he carries profound grief as the biological father but was estranged and had no role in his son’s upbringing or life, including the use of the family name Vanrootselaar. Despite that distance, he says he feels deep heartbreak for the pain inflicted on innocent people and on the community they call home.
AFP included the Tumbler Ridge case in its ongoing reporting on online misinformation, highlighting the risks of misidentifying individuals following violent events. AFP is a leading global news agency and a world leader in digital verification.
