On February 10, 2026, a mass shooting occurred in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. An 18-year-old individual (whose name will not be published here to avoid adding to her notoriety) shot and killed eight people and injured 25 others before turning the gun on herself.
Merely hours after the shooting, speculation regarding the gender identity of the shooter began to spread across social media. Independent B.C. MLA Tara Armstrong posted on X, stating that “there is an epidemic of transgender violence spreading across the West”. She went on to claim that the “epidemic” would continue until we “change our society’s response to transgender ideology”.
In reality, statistics show that transgender folks account for less than one tenth of one percent of mass shootings in the United States, despite being a larger proportion of the population.
On February 12, 2026, in response to the Tumbler Ridge tragedy and the disinformation surrounding the events, BC’s Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender issued the following statement:
“What happened in Tumbler Ridge on February 10 is devastating beyond words. To those mourning their loved ones, to the grieving community, to the students and staff at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School navigating through trauma, to the first responders and care providers who have had to put aside their own losses in service of the community, our hearts are with you.
As a parent sending my child off to school yesterday after reading the horrifying news, I could only imagine the sense of injustice and powerlessness that families and loved ones must be feeling in Tumbler Ridge. We should be able to trust that our schools are safe places for our children, and that their rights to education and safety would be protected there. In this time of crisis, many of us are finding strength in our shared humanity, as people in B.C. lean into one another. By contrast, I am disappointed by the anti-trans disinformation and the hateful narratives that are being spread. Mis and disinformation amplify hateful beliefs, which can result in discrimination and violence towards trans people who already face extremely high levels of discrimination and harassment.
Leaders have a duty to uphold the facts and the rights of everyone involved. Using this horrific incident to conflate trans identities with violent tendencies is incorrect, irresponsible and frankly dangerous. When we look at the data, it tells us a different story than what some spreading disinformation want you to see right now. It tells us that trans people are substantially more likely to be victims rather than perpetrators of violent crimes, four times more likely than cisgender people.1 And of people who commit mass shootings, trans people make up far less than one per cent in the U.S.2
Mis and disinformation damage our democracy. Without shared facts, we have no shared sense of truth on which to base our political debate and decisions. We can’t solve the problems of our time without some shared methodology about how to understand those problems. In a democracy, we should be able to debate policy approaches to shared concerns, but that is impossible if we are having entirely different conversations based on false information.
We all want to be safe and for our children to grow up and thrive in safe communities. Horrific incidents like this make us all search for answers; how do we prevent this from happening again? If we are to come up with answers that actually make us safer, we must uncover and rely on real facts, not disinformation propagated for a political agenda. This is not a time to let ideology run rampant; this is a time to find strength in unity and answers in hard facts.
My Office and I stand with the community of Tumbler Ridge, the trans and LGBTQ2SAI+ communities and allies who refuse to let hate divide us, especially in times of tragedy. I call on all leaders in this province and country to reject mis and disinformation and act from a place of principle, truth and respect for the rights of those who are vulnerable in this moment.”
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal (BCHRT) has consistently upheld the rights of transgender people under the Human Rights Code (R.S.B.C. 1996) ch. 210, which explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. This protection was formally added to the Code in 2016 through legislative amendments, ensuring that transgender individuals are safeguarded against discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and access to services.
