Tumbler Ridge students barricaded themselves in classrooms as Jesse Van Rootselaar opened fire

The serenity in the tiny, rural B.C. community of Tumbler Ridge seen on Tuesday afternoon was at sharp odds with the words being heard on the livestream broadcast.

Bright sunshine reflected from fallen snow surrounded by pines and leafless birch; it sent a long shadow of Trent Ernst, with the community newspaper, stretching far into his camera’s frame as he broadcast from outside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

“There is a report of an active shooter,” he said calmly. “As I was just about to go live...