12-year-old shot in the head by teenage school shooter as she protected classmates during Tumbler Ridge massacre, family says
A 12-year-old caught in the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School has been left fighting for her life after being shot while trying to protect her classmates.
Maya Gebala is listed as being in “critical condition” at British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital, after being airlifted to the facility following the shooting on Tuesday.
A close relative, Krysta Hunt, revealed that Maya was struck by two bullets after trying to lock a library door to keep out the shooter, who has since been identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar.
During her rampage, Van Rootselaar killed three female students, all aged 12, and two male students, aged 12 and 13. She also killed a 39-year-old educator, as well as a mother, 39, and an 11-year-old stepbrother.
Maya Gebela, 12, was shot while trying to protect her friends from shooter Jesse van Rootselaar (GoFundMe)
“[Maya] tried to lock the door of the library from the shooter to save the other kids, and then she tried to lock it and then ran and hid under a table and [got shot],” Hunt told Global News.
The youngster was hit by a bullet just above her left eye, with a second bullet hitting her in the neck.
Medics were alerted to Maya’s condition by her friends, who noticed that her finger was still moving even after being shot. From there, she was rushed to the hospital.
“She’s in extreme critical condition,” Hunt said, adding that doctors were not even sure if Maya would survive through Tuesday night and that she had suffered a bleed on her brain.
“They are not sure if the bullet in her neck went all the way through or not, or if it’s still internal, but they’re leaving it for now to focus on her head,” she continued.
The shooting unfolded at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday afternoon (AFP/Getty)
Hunt launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Maya and her mother, Cia. Money raised through the campaign will be used to fund Maya’s recovery and to help her mother support her throughout it.
The campaign page features a heartbreaking note from Cia, written from the children’s hospital in Vancouver.
“Today started as any other,” Cia wrote. “Now, however, my 12 year old daughter is fighting for her life while they try to repair the damage from a gun shot wound to the head. And one to the neck..”
“She was a lucky one, I suppose,” Cia continues. “Condolences to the other families during this tragedy.
“This doesnt even feel real. I never thought I would be asking for prayers.. but please please, pray for my baby.”
In a post on her Facebook page, Cia paid tribute to her daughter and encouraged her to fight for her recovery.
“My climber. My builder. My hockey star,” she wrote. “Fight hard baby. They say you cant.
“They dont know you like we do.”
Hunt shared that Maya’s current prognosis remains “unknown” and that the youngster remains in a medically induced coma.
Eight victims were killed in the attack, with the shooter also taking their own life (Reuters)
Police are still working to determine Van Rootselaar’s motive. In a press conference, authorities confirmed that they had been called out to the suspect’s address several times in order to deal with mental health concerns.
During one visit, the teenager was taken to a hospital under the Mental Health Act. When asked if any of the visits concerned weapons, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald simply replied, “Yes.”
Van Rootselaar, who had been transitioning from male to female over a six-year period, did not have any firearms registered to her name.
Her gun license expired in 2024, and the two firearms found at the school were not registered to her.
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