Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday pledged Canada's enduring support to the grief-stricken town of Tumbler Ridge, as he led a candlelight vigil for the eight victims of a mass shooting.
Carney arrived in the remote British Columbia mining town with the heads of opposition parties, a show of national solidarity after one of the deadliest outbursts of violence in Canadian history.
"I know that nothing I can say will bring your children home. I know that no words from me or anyone can fill the silence in your homes tonight, and I won't pretend otherwise," Carney told the crowd gathered outside the town hall on a frigid night.
"We wanted you to hear that Canadians are with you, and we will always be with you," the prime minister said.
Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who also spoke, told AFP before the vigil that Canada "was in tears."
"But we are united like never before."
"As a father, I'm thinking about those wonderful, precious children that were lost and the parents that are now left with a gaping and unfillable hole," the Conservative Party leader said.
- Shooter was 'hunting' -
In the days since Tuesday's killings at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, more information has emerged about both the victims and the shooter, an 18-year-old transgender woman named Jesse Van Rootselaar.
Van Rootselaar was "hunting," and "there was no specific targeting of any individuals," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
An RCMP officer remained stationed outside Van Rootselaar's home on Friday.
The modest brown house on a quiet, unassuming street was cordoned-off with police tape. Two overturned bicycles rested against the snow in the front yard.
Van Rootselaar killed her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old brother in the house before heading to the school, where she shot dead six more people -- five students and a teacher -- then killed herself.
The shooter's estranged father, Justin Van Rootselaar, sent a statement to the public broadcaster CBC offering condolences for a "senseless and unforgivable act of violence."
Officers released a photo of the shooter -- who was known to have mental health issues. She is shown wearing a hoodie with an expressionless face.
- 'Unheard-of cruelty' -
Tumbler Ridge is an isolated community built four decades ago, 1,180 kilometers (733 miles) north of Vancouver.
Friday's vigil included people who came from other British Columbia towns to show support.
Christine James, who drove 120 kilometres from Dawson Creek, fought back tears, saying: "I just needed to be here."
Tumbler Ridge community leaders have stressed the grieving process is indefinite, but inside the community center on Thursday, there were hints of life inching back towards normal, including an ice rink packed with children playing hockey or working on their skating.
On Thursday evening, the mother of one victim, Sarah Lampert, addressed the media at the center, saying she wanted to speak for her 12-year-old daughter Ticaria who had "a beautiful, strong voice that was silenced."
"She is forever my baby, because that's what she was. She was a baby," Lampert said, fighting back tears as she addressed a room full of cameras.
Also killed at school was 12-year-old Zoey Benoit.
"She was so resilient, vibrant, smart, caring and the strongest little girl you could meet," a statement from her family said.
Peter Schofield's 13-year-old grandson Ezekiel was another of the murdered students.
"Everything feels so surreal. The tears just keep flowing," he posted on Facebook.
Residents have repeatedly stressed the community's closeness in the days following the shootings, saying tight relationships in the town of 2,400 would help people get through the nightmare.
"This will not break us," pastor George Rowe said. "I think we're going to be OK."
Carney met privately before the vigil with various community groups, including first-responders and health workers and said he came away understanding "what has always defined this community: people caring for each other."
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