The Tumbler Ridge shooting suspect’s biological father has released an emotional statement, offering his condolences to the victims and providing insight into his relationship with his child.

On Wednesday, the BC RCMP identified 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who is suspected of killing eight people Tuesday before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Note: The BC RCMP has identified Jesse Van Rootselaar as a transgender woman, as she identified publicly in life. Her biological father, Justin VanRootselaar, uses the pronouns ‘his’ and ‘him’ to describe Jesse, and stylizes their family name without a space. His statement is presented without edits.

Justin VanRootselaar issued the following:

There are moments when words feel far too small for the sorrow we are carrying together. What has happened has left an ache in the heart of our town that will not soon fade. In a place where we know each other by name, where we pass one another in the grocery store and gather at the same community events, this loss feels deeply personal to us all.

To the families who have lost loved ones, and to every person who has been affected by this senseless and unforgivable act of violence, I offer my most heartfelt condolences. I cannot begin to imagine the depth of your grief. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and that I share in the profound sadness that has settled over our community.

As the biological father of the individual responsible, I carry a sorrow that is difficult to put into words. I was estranged from Jesse Strang and was not part of his life. His mother declined my involvement from the beginning, and I was not given the opportunity to be a part of raising him. Jesse did not use the VanRootselaar family name at any point in his life. While that distance is the reality of our relationship, it does not lessen the heartbreak I feel for the pain that has been caused to innocent people and to the town we call home.

This is a time for compassion, for holding one another close, and for supporting the families who are grieving such unimaginable loss.

As we respect your grief, we respectfully ask that you also respect ours. There will be no further statements.

With deepest sympathy,

Justin VanRootselaar

Jesse’s mother, Jennifer Jacobs, is among the deceased victims. Justin VanRootselaar’s description of his relationship to Jacobs has not been verified.

As the town of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Canada, and the world are in mourning, a picture of the suspect’s troubled life is emerging, with a court ruling depicting her family’s “nomadic lifestyle” and a gaming company removing her account, which was used to create a shopping mall massacre simulation.

Police have said they made multiple visits for mental health concerns to the split-level home that Van Rootselaar shared with Jacobs and Jacobs’ 11-year-old son, Emmett.

The RCMP says Jesse Van Rootselaar is suspected of having killed them both in the family home before continuing the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

—With files from The Canadian Press