Transgender School Shooter's 12-Year-Old Victim Defies Death Odds in Canada
A 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head and neck by a transgender school shooter has miraculously survived the night despite doctors warning she would not endure. Maya Gebala was among at least two dozen children and teachers wounded when Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, opened fire in the library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, killing eight people before dying by suicide.
Mother's Heartbreaking Update on Daughter's Condition
Maya's mother, Cia Edmonds, revealed on Wednesday that doctors at Vancouver Children's Hospital had warned the damage to her brain was too severe for her to survive the night. The teenager defied those odds, but Edmonds has now shared a devastating update from her daughter's bedside about the distressing future Maya faces if she recovers.
'They tell me [if] she survives her life will only be feeding [tubes] and round the clock care. I feel cruel for keeping her. But they dont know her like i do,' Edmonds wrote in an emotional social media post.
Edmonds described how her 'baby needs a miracle' and expressed feeling her daughter's presence. 'I can feel her in my heart. I can feel her saying it's going to be OK... She's here... for how long we don't know,' she said.
Details of the Deadly School Shooting
Van Rootselaar - known locally as Jesse Strang - first killed his mother Jennifer and stepbrother Emmett at the family home before attacking the nearby school. The shooter, a biological male who began identifying as female at age 12, had a history of mental health contacts with police.
The massacre at the small town in eastern British Columbia claimed the lives of:
- A female teacher aged 39
- Three girls all aged 12
- Two boys aged 12 and 13
Among the identified victims was Kylie Smith, 12, whose family described her as a 'beautiful, kind, innocent soul'. Her father Lance Younge told CTV: 'She was just a beautiful soul. She loves art and anime. She wanted to go to school in Toronto and we just love her so much. She never hurt a soul.'
Questions About Police Response and Firearms
Serious questions now surround what may have driven Van Rootselaar to commit this heinous crime. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police revealed that firearms were previously confiscated from the shooter's home but were later returned to the lawful owner.
Dwayne McDonald, Deputy Commissioner of the British Columbia RCMP, stated: 'Police have attended that residence in the past, approximately a couple of years ago, where firearms were seized under the Criminal Code. I can say that at a later point in time, the lawful owner of those firearms petitioned for those firearms to be returned, and they were.'
Van Rootselaar's mother, Jennifer, did not have a valid firearms license at the time of her death. The shooter had stopped attending school four years ago at age 14 and had been 'apprehended for assessment' under Canada's mental health act at least once.
Community Devastation and National Response
The attack represents Canada's deadliest rampage since 2020, when a gunman in Nova Scotia killed 13 people and set fires that left another nine dead. Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed the nation's grief, stating: 'Parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers in Tumbler Ridge will wake up without someone they love. The nation mourns with you, and Canada stands by you.'
Carney announced that flags at government buildings would be flown at half-staff for seven days and canceled a planned trip to Europe for the Munich Security Conference.
Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka described the community as a 'big family' and expressed devastation at learning how many had died. 'I broke down,' Krakowka said. 'I have lived here for 18 years. I probably know every one of the victims.'
Eyewitness Accounts and School Lockdown
Shelley Quist, whose 17-year-old son Darian was at the school during the attack, revealed that her neighbor lost her 12-year-old child. 'We heard his mom. She was in the street crying. She wanted her son's body,' Quist said.
Darian Quist described being on lockdown for more than two hours, knowing the attack was real when the principal ordered doors closed. 'We used the desk to block the doors,' he said, adding that fellow students texted him pictures of blood while he remained locked in a classroom.
The provincial government website lists Tumbler Ridge Secondary School as having 175 students in grades 7 to 12. According to Shelley Quist, 'The grade sevens and eights, I think, were upstairs in the library, and that's where the shooter went.' Her son had been in the library just 15 minutes before the attack.
Aftermath and Memorials
A makeshift memorial of flowers and stuffed toys grew at the edge of the school grounds as residents gathered at the local community center to comfort each other. The school district announced that both the high school and elementary school would be closed for the rest of the week.
British Columbia Premier David Eby acknowledged the community's strength while recognizing the tragedy's profound impact. 'I can tell you this is an incredibly strong community. Everybody is worried about somebody else,' Eby said outside the townhall.
School shootings remain rare in Canada, which maintains strict gun-control laws. The government has responded to previous mass shootings with additional gun-control measures, including a recently broadened ban on all weapons it classifies as assault weapons.
