Flowers sit outside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after a shooting took place leaving at least nine people dead in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Feb. 11, 2026. (Paige Taylor White – AFP / Getty Images)
By Samuel Short February 12, 2026 at 7:14am
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh stumbled upon a weird delusional post by a reddit user three years ago — that user turned out to likely be the shooter in British Columbia, Canada from Tuesday.
The man in question, a deeply disturbed mentally ill one who thought that he was a woman, has been identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar. Van Rootselaar killed eight people and himself in the Tumbler Ridge community according to CBC.
Internet sleuths have since linked the name of a Reddit account — “jesseboy347” — as one frequently used by Van Rootselaar and even promoted by his late mother, Jennifer Strang, who police believe Van Rootselaar killed at his family home just prior to shooting up the school.
Van Rootselaar had posted to r/MtF, a popular subreddit for biological males embarking on a journey to dismember themselves and inject hormones, all in the belief they will someday achieve womanhood. Other details the account posted about seem to show this being Van Rootselaar’s account.
Three years ago, a screenshotted post from the account went viral with the caption “never let your kids watch anime.”
The alleged Van Rootselaar post was titled, “How do I stop comparing myself to fictional characters?”
He describes himself as trans, “pre-HRT” meaning he has yet to take hormones.
“I’ve been viewing a lot of anime content recently, and never went into it before,” he wrote.
After saying he did not want to be two-dimensional, like those characters, he added, “when it comes to their body shape n stuff, I often find myself comparing their semi-unrealistic (Yet still physically possible) shape.”
The post continues with Van Rootselaar expressing frustration he cannot meet the body standards of fictional characters, mentioning his expectations for his “transition.”
Walsh shortly after, reposted the screenshot, telling his followers, “Hate to say I told you so.”
Yesterday, the X account Reddit Lies reposted that moment, which Walsh reposted himself saying, “I once again hate to say I told you so.”
I once again hate to say I told you so https://t.co/ZprjYwIBVX
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 11, 2026
This should be incredibly rare, but it’s not. Walsh had no clue who this person was or what murderous intentions he would develop.
He reposted a something from a random Reddit account, and the person behind the comment would go onto kill.
Tuesday is unfortunately not a one off, or even rare as droves of leftists and legacy media outlets will rush to conclude, running damage control for this warped ideology.
2023 saw a woman who thought she was a man murder children in Nashville, Tennessee.
Last year saw a man who thought he was a woman murder children in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
As it turns out, when you fuel delusions about yourself that include chopping off body parts, taking hormones, and trying to adopt a new identity, you walk a dark path.
The Post Millennial put together an article of other instances of trans shootings. One “non-binary” man killed six people at a gay nightclub in 2022 but the shootings go back further to 2018.
In that shooting, the killers said “transphobic” students were targeted.
Flashback: In May 2019, a female-to-male identifying #trans shooter named Alec McKinney & accomplice Devon Erickson carried out a deadly mass shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Douglas County, Colo. McKinney told investigators transphobic students were targeted. pic.twitter.com/5sznjVweHB
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) March 27, 2023
This is not just a mental illness.
It is a murderous nihilistic ideology that builds resentment and hatred of the world.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not reflect the views or opinions of Motlow State Community College.
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