12-year-old Tumbler Ridge shooting victim slowly improving, says mother
For the family of Maya Gebala, sitting by her hospital bed is a blessing. It means she’s still with them — even if doctors didn’t think she would be. (Cia Edmonds via Facebook)
Posted March 1, 2026 4:25 pm.
The mother of one of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting has shared updates about how her daughter is doing.
Twelve-year-old Maya Gebala has had to fight pneumonia, MRSA, meningitis, a cerebral leak, and two brain surgeries, Cia Edmonds posted on Facebook.
Edmonds says Maya is slowly improving, opening her eye during the day and appearing to follow TV shows.
“My stomach was in knots, and I don’t think I was able to process a coherent sentence for anyone to be able to understand,” she posted.
“Day by day, though, she’s coming back to the place she was, the swelling is going down again, and her eye is open during the day.”
She says Maya is able to squeeze her hands and wiggle her toes when asked to.
Maya, who was flown to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver following the tragedy, has received an outpouring of support from people around the world.
The Feb. 10 mass shooting claimed the lives of nine people in Tumbler Ridge, including that of the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar.
NHL player Evander Kane donates $1,000 to Tumbler Ridge victim’s Maya Gebala’s GoFundMe
‘Evander has supported a number of individuals and families during this time, including Maya,’ Kane’s agent Daniel Milstein said
Maya Gebala with her mother Cia Edmonds in this combination photo through Cia’s Facebook page. Photo by Facebook
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Tumbler Ridge massacre survivor Maya Gebala, 12, has received a show of support from Vancouver Canucks forward Evander Kane.
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One of the donations on GoFundMe on Wednesday was by the 34-year-old hockey player for $1,000. “To the best of my knowledge, Evander has supported a number of individuals and families during this time, including Maya,” Kane’s agent Daniel Milstein told National Post on Wednesday. “Out of respect for privacy, we’re not confirming any specific details or amounts related to personal donations,” Milstein said over email.
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The fundraising campaign was started by Krysta Hunt, cousin of Maya’s mom. The campaign with the goal to raise $250,000 had raised $472,935 at the time of publishing.
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Maya Gebala and her younger sister Dahlia (right) pictured in this photo shared by their mom Cia on Facebook. Photo by Cia Edmonds/Facebook
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Maya is one of the surviving victims of the shooting that shook the quiet community in B.C. on Feb. 10 and was one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history. Maya was admitted to the intensive care unit at B.C. Children’s hospital in Vancouver after she was shot trying to protect her classmates from Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, who opened fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.
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Maya was reportedly in the library when she was shot. One shot grazed her cheek and ear, other shots hit her head and neck. The 12-year-old suffered significant damage to her brain from where the bullet exited.
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“Everything you are and were, … taken in a second,” Maya’s mom Cia Edmonds wrote in a moving post on Facebook on Tuesday. “Maya, I am have always been so fiercely proud of my babies. You though, were always the most defiant and stubborn … I was only just getting to watch you become the person you were meant to be. You are right here, and a million miles away. I prey you come back one day. I miss you my sweatpea , my Maya moon.. To the moon and back, and all the stars in the sky.”
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Some of the Tumbler Ridge shooting victims. Top row from left: Kylie Smith, Abel Mwansa, Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert. Bottom row from left: Ezekiel Schofield, Emmett Jacobs, Jennifer Jacobs. Photo by RCMP; GoFundMe
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The 18-year-old opened fire at the school, killing five students and a teacher. Van Rootselaar’s mother, 39, and half-brother, 11, were shot at home and were the shooter’s first two victims. Maya and another student Paige Hoekstra were rushed to the hospital. Paige, 18, was discharged from the hospital a week ago.
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Maya is still in the hospital but her progress continues to “defy expectations, her father said.
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“We were told we only had hours and yet here you are, still fighting, still with us,” David Gebala wrote in an update on GoFundMe. “You continue to defy every expectation the doctors and surgeons once prepared us for.”
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This is Vancouver-born Kane’s first season playing for his hometown Canucks. He has played for several teams, most recently the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks, since breaking into the NHL in 2009 with the Atlanta Thrashers.
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