Canadian shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar is seen wearing makeup in a selfie he posted to an online transgender forum, where he shared that it was his "first time" he dressed up. "First time trying makeup! (Pre-HRT)," he wrote in a post archived from a June 2023 subreddit, using the term for hormone replacement therapy, commonly associated with gender transition.
The Reddit account was later identified as belonging to Van Rootselaar, according to the Telegraph. In the mirror selfie, Jesse Strang, 18, who opened fire inside a Canadian high school, is seen wearing dark nail polish, red lipstick, and foundation, with long, messy hair falling over and partially obscuring his eyes.
Killer's Alternate Look
"Literally never done it before!" he wrote in a comment beneath the thread, which drew a brief response from another user who replied, "cool beans." Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said at a press conference on Wednesday that Van Rootselaar was "born a biological male... who approximately six years ago began to transition as female, and identified as female."
This came as it was revealed that Strang's mother, who was shot and killed by him, had spoken out in support of trans rights, calling on people to stop "spewing bulls–t" online and show more understanding instead in a resurfaced Instagram post.
Jennifer Strang, the mother of 18-year-old Jesse Strang, described herself as a "conservative-leaning libertarian" and shared a heated, profanity-laced message on Instagram in July 2024--less than two years before her son carried out the attack on Tuesday, killing eight.
Strang hit back at critics online, warning that hateful language can drive transgender children toward suicide and said that spreading that kind of rhetoric only makes people look "dumb."
"As a conservative leaning libertarian who lives in the north and loves living in a small town. I really hope the hate I see online is just bored old people and not true hatred," Strang wrote, urging people to "evolve" and "do better and educate yourself before spewing bull—t online."
Disturbing Past
Jennifer added, "I normally don't say anything and I normally don't go on s–tbook to see the keyboard warriors and I know I can't control everything or shield my kids from everything but please for the love of f–k can you get your sh–t together so we don't have to bring our kids up in a world full of hatred.
"Do you have any idea how many kids are killing themselves over this kind of hate. Please STOP the bulls–!"
Jesse, an 18-year-old former student of the school, began the deadly rampage Tuesday afternoon at a private home in the quiet rural town of Tumbler Ridge.
He then went on to carry out the attack at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where authorities say he later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police said six victims were found dead inside the school. The bodies of Van Rotselaar's mother, 39, and his 11-year-old stepbrother were later discovered at a nearby home.
Images that later surfaced paint a troubling contrast: in some, the teenager appears quiet and withdrawn while celebrating a birthday or sharing a meal with family; in others, he is seen smiling as he holds an assault-style rifle.
Van Rootselaar was known to use his mother's surname, Strang, in social settings and at school.
