The stepfather of the transgender school shooter who slaughtered eight people has been in “unbearable pain” since the tragedy, he told The Post in his first detailed comments since the massacre.
Jesse Van Rootselaar, an 18-year-old high school dropout, killed his mom Jennifer Strang, 39, and half-brother Emmett Jacobs, 11, on Tuesday before storming into Tumble Ridge Secondary School in a tiny British Columbia town and opening fire, authorities said.
His stepdad, Jean-Pierre Jacobs, has been left to try and pick up the pieces.
“I lost my little boy, a man’s pride and joy,” Jacobs said Saturday of his son Emmett. “Jennifer and I had our differences, but she did not deserve this, none of them did.”
“The pain I have been feeling from this tragedy is unbearable,” said Jacobs, who shared three children with Strang.
Jacobs, who’s been living in Alberta, said he was estranged from the children for the last eight years, and that his attempts to set up visitation and phone calls were ignored by Strang after their split.
“Emmett was beautiful boy. When I was around, he loved fishing and being outdoors with me, he was happy, smart and kind. If I could have continued to spend time with him, I would have.
“My heart has always ached for him, and I have missed him and my other surviving children tremendously.”
Van Rootselaar was described as a deranged teen, who was obsessed with mass shootings and death videos.
“Jesse was a troubled child and I did what I could before we split up, I had no idea it had gotten this bad,” he added.
He and Strang were still legally married, but Jacobs said he was in the process of filing for divorce and planning on marrying his current partner.
“I am currently looking to what is best for my other surviving children when the time is right and I am left here picking up the pieces of what’s left of my family in Tumbler Ridge,” he said.
“There was much I never knew about and much she held from me. I truly forgive her for it all, despite everything.”
The remaining children are staying with Strang’s parents, said Jacobs, who plans to fight for custody.
