Demolition of Tumbler Ridge Secondary School is now underway

Crews began removing the building’s exterior on Monday and photos from the scene show some walls torn off and rubble on the ground.

The Peace River South School District said the demolition is expected to take weeks. Once the structure is removed, work will continue through the fall to restore the site to grass.

The province has pledged to build a new school in the community in a different location and Premier David Eby said in May that students cannot return to the building where such a devastating tragedy took place.

Students will be attending classes in temporary portable classrooms until a new school is built in a different location.

Five children and an educator were killed when 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar opened fire at the school in northeastern B.C. on Feb. 10. Before the school shooting, Rootselaar killed their mother and half-brother at their home. Van Rootselaar died at the school from a self-inflicted gunshot injury.

Last week, hundreds of pages of court documents detailing what happened during the shooting were finally released.

Media outlets from across the country fought for transparency on behalf of the victims’ families, the community of Tumbler Ridge and the nation.

The files reveal chilling new details about the killer, but a lot of information is still being withheld from the public.

A sworn police document known as an ITO, written by RCMP Const. Jonathan Paquin, confirms: “Jesse had mental health problems and was fascinated by firearms.”