PICTURED: Transgender 'gun-person' who killed children, teachers and family members in Canada tragedy

Before arriving at the school, he had killed his mother and stepbrother at their home.

The massacre claimed nine lives in total, including the shooter himself, after police revised the figure down from 10.

At the school, Van Rootseaar shot a 39-year-old female teacher, three 12-year-old girls and two boys, aged 12 and 13, with a long gun and a modified handgun.

Dozens were injured, and two severely wounded victims, ages 12 and 19, remain in hospital.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) named Van Rootselaar on Wednesday after initially describing him as a woman in a dress with brown hair.

The teenager had been using his mother's surname, Strang, in social settings and at school prior to the attack.

And now, images of the shooter have been revealed from the first time.

Photos from social media show the youth grinning with a rifle and posing with cakes - one appearing to read "great boy" - on his 13th birthday.

The RCMP explained that Jesse began identifying as a girl six years ago, aged 12, and said there had been multiple call-outs to his home related to his mental health over the years.

Van Rootselaar stopped attending school at the age of 14, at one point had to be "apprehended for assessment" under Canada's Mental Health Act.

On Tuesday - the early hours of Wednesday morning in Britain - Van Rootselaar opened fire inside the school library during the afternoon.

The gunman, described as a "gun-person" by police after the attack, took his own life at the school following the rampage.

Van Rootselaar previously held a firearms licence, but it expired in 2024.

Canadians between the ages of 12 and 17 can obtain a minor's gun licence after taking a firearms safety course and passing tests.

The incident marks the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history, and the worst in the 21st century.

King Charles III, the King of Canada, said he was "profoundly shocked and saddened" by the deaths.

On social media, Abel Mwansa said his 12-year-old son, also named Abel, had died in the shooting. Abel had once cried when his father proposed home schooling because he loved going to school so much, his father wrote.

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He raised his son, Mwansa added, to respect his elders, "be strong, work hard, put a smile on the face like I do, focus on his studies, never miss school and to be a good kid."

Another woman, Shanon Dycke, said her 12-year-old niece, Kylie May Smith, was among the victims.

"Pray for the other families who have lost their child, or are waiting to hear news," she wrote. "Just pray for Tumbler Ridge."

Local Liam Irving said Van Rootselaar's mother and younger brother were well-known in the community and were "good friends" of his family.

"There's not one person in this town right now that's not affected by this," Mr Irving told the Western Standard.

"We will get through this. We will learn from this," a visibly upset Prime Minister Mark Carney later told reporters.

Mr Carney postponed a trip to Europe and ordered flags on all Government buildings be flown at half-mast for the next seven days.

Hours later, MPs in Canada's House of Commons observed a moment of silence and listened as a sombre Mr Carney said the killings had left the country in shock and mourning.

"It is a town of miners, teachers, construction workers - families who have built their lives there, people who have always shown up for each other there," he said.

"Tumbler Ridge represents the very best of Canada."