4 things to know about Canadian school shooting, suspect who identified as transgender
1. Suspect was biological male who identified as female: police
Police identified Jesse Van Rootselaar as the shooter who killed eight people, including the shooter's mother and stepbrother, CBC reported Wednesday.
The 18-year-old is a biological male who began a gender identity transition roughly six years ago, according to the CBC.
A family member told independent Canadian news outlet Juno News on Wednesday that Rootselaar was transgender. Images shared of Rootselaar on social media also showed the suspect wore hairstyles indicating both male and female gender identity.
A police active shooter alert said the suspect was described "as female in a dress with brown hair." Authorities later confirmed that the suspect described in the alert was the same person found dead in the school.
