Tumbler Ridge trans school shooter Jesse Strang was on SSRIs, felt suicidal over not getting cross-sex hormones

Nine people are dead and 25 injured after a shooter opened fire in a Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia secondary school and nearby residence on Tuesday. The shooter has been identified by a close family member as Jesse Strang, a trans-identified male, who took his own life after the massacre.

The shooter’s uncle spoke with Juno News, identifying the shooter 17-year-old Jesse Strang. A public YouTube account allegedly belonging to Strang, which has since been deleted, displayed "she/her" pronouns and featured a profile photo that used trans flag colors and showed an SKS-style rifle.

Per Reduxx, Strang began identifying as transgender in 2023 and was raised in a hunting family, learning how to shoot rifles from a young age. The YouTube channel was launched in 2021 and promoted by Strang’s mother on Facebook. The channel was dedicated to interests such as "hunting, self-reliance, guns," however, the content on the channel was wiped at some point and the handle was changed from "Jesse Boy" to "JessJessUwU." The only post that remained on the channel was from six months prior which stated, "I’ve been pretty um, aimless."

Strang appeared to be active on Reddit, with one post from October 2023 bearing the title "I went crazy and burnt my house down my second time trying shrooms but still have a desire to try alternatives" in the subreddit "RationalPsychonaut."

In the post, user "jesseboy347" said that he had gotten "out of the psyche ward like a month ago" and has been diagnosed with ADHD, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and OCD. The post stated that on the second time trying psychedelic mushrooms, he "had a complete break from reality and did a lot of irrational things."

In another post in a subreddit dedicated to the drug DMT, he said that he was on the SSRI Sertraline 280mg, and on "rare" occasions took the antipsychotic drug Risperidone 2mg for sleep. He also said he smoked "a decent bit of weed" and "had a complete mental break on 3G of Panaeolus cyanescens shroomies." During the "shroomies" incident, he said he had been on 50mg of the SSRI Fluxotine "and Quetiapine unsure of dosage."

In an April 2024 post, he asked users of the subreddit "NoStupidQuestions," "could someone theoretically get the effects of a substance off an addicts urine," noting a song lyric indicating such a thing. 

"Jesseboy347" also posted a video to the subreddit "transguns" with the title "I blew up their desert eagle." In the video, he is seen shooting a handgun at a gun range. He was wearing a sweatshirt that said on the back "World Massacre Tour" and included a rifle and locations such as "the Gulf War," "Angola" "Gaza Strip," and the words "to be continued" at the bottom.

In April 2023, Strang, then 15, expressed on Reddit feeling suicidal while awaiting cross-sex hormones. "I am noticing heavy changes in my appearance every month, by the time I’m actually able to visit. I may have severe damage from Testosterone changing my body. This is extremely stressful, the wait alone makes me want to die. The uncertainty not knowing how the HRT will even effect me, not knowing if I’ll ever be me," he wrote. 

"But add onto it, the slow degradation of my body in front of my very eyes, awaiting this appointment. It really hurts, I am genuinely considering taking my own life. Is there any way, literally any way possible I can speed up this process? I’ve heard that a general practitioner in BC can technically prescribe HRT to a trans patient, but I don’t know."

Women's rights activist Amy Hamm, also based in BC, shared that she was in a private Facebook group with Strang's mother. Before the shooter was identified, Hamm posted that she believed that the woman had been killed by the shooter. "Two locals identified the shooter’s family and claimed a trans identified male son killed his mother and brother before going to the school and killing more victims," she wrote, noting that "This has NOT been confirmed by police." The identities of the victims still have not been released by the RCMP.

Hamm later shared screenshots from the Facebook group after Strang's identity had been confirmed. She said that in 2015, when Strang was then seven, his mother posted to a private Facebook group of her son that he "has a huge heart and showed intense empathy when he sees anyone hurt not by his own hand but has a devious grin when he hurts his siblings. He covers things up and lies to get out of taking responsibility for his actions." She added in a comment, that there are "times he is pretty mean."

Police were alerted to the shooting at around 1:20 pm on Tuesday in the small town of Tumbler Ridge in eastern BC. Tumbler Ridge Secondary School is for grades 7-12 and there are only about 160 students. The shooter and six others were found dead inside the school, another victim died on the way to the hospital, and two others were found dead in a nearby home. The shooter was described by police as a "female in a dress with brown hair."