As portables arrive in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., expert says feeling safe a priority

The co-founder of a group that supports victims and their families after mass shootings says a top priority when bringing students back to school in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., is to make them feel safe again.

“No kid can learn in fear,” said Anita Busch, with the U.S.-based organization Victims First.

The British Columbia government has announced that a series of portable facilities will arrive throughout the week, so students at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School don’t have to learn in a place were six people were killed, five of them students. 

A government statement says a date for the resumption of classes hasn’t been confirmed. 

Chad Anderson, chair of the Peace River South school board, said in the statement that it would “use a compassionate, trauma-informed approach” to the resumption of classes. 

Busch said her experience has shown that there will be fear around the return to school. 

“Even going back to something that you can say is completely safe, it’s still going to be a lot of fear there.”

The B.C. government said 14 portables will begin arriving in Tumbler Ridge this week, and they’ll be placed on the grounds of the local elementary school. 

“It is expected to take several days to set the units up for water and heating and to furnish them for returning students and staff, depending on weather conditions and other factors,” the statement said. 

Environment Canada posted a winter storm warning for the southern Peace region with up to 25 centimetres of snow by Tuesday and wind chills down to minus-40 through to Wednesday. 

Busch, whose cousin was killed in the Aurora, Colo., theatre shooting and who has a family member who survived the Route 91 concert mass shooting in Las Vegas, said there should be counsellors available to support the students and teachers coming back.

“It’s all about putting the building blocks in place to make the kids and the educators feel safe,” she said.

“Whether it’s security, visible security, and also to have trauma counsellors there to help them.”

The government says counsellors will support staff and students in the safe transition to the new buildings and counselling will continue to be available afterward.

Busch said those at schools that have had shootings in the United States have made a variety of decisions on what to do with the buildings. Both Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida were demolished and rebuilt. 

Those in charge of the Columbine High School site tore down the library where many of the victims were killed, and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was torn down and rebuilt at a different location.

Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, shot and killed her mother and half-brother at their home in Tumbler Ridge before going to the school and killing six people and then herself.

The current portables being moved to the elementary schools are single-wide, but the statement says double-wide trailers will be arriving in the coming weeks “and will serve Tumbler Ridge Secondary until community input, expert advice and future plans can be confirmed.” 

Busch said the community should be involved in any decision around when and where to start school again.

“You have to talk to those directly impacted. You have to have an open forum that’s safe and let the voices rise and get input,” she said.

Any new school should be built with safety in mind and those measures need to be clearly visible so that students can see that the location is safer, she said. 

Busch, who has assisted on 56 mass casualty events over 13 years, said people in Tumbler Ridge are still going to be fearful.

“Everything that people are feeling right now is a very normal reaction to an incredibly abnormal situation,” she said.

“So, not wanting to leave the house, being scared to go anywhere, having recurring thoughts (or) nightmares. This is what happens after a mass shooting. Don’t feel like you’re losing your mind. You’re not.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.