“It was the call I will never forget”: Kylie Smith’s father speaks for the first time about the heartbreaking way he learned his 12-year-old daughter was among the vιctιms of the Tumbler Ridge tr-ɑgedy

Heartbreaking way dad found out daughter, 12, was among Tumbler Ridge school shooting victims

The parents of a 12-year-old girl killed on Tuesday’s horrific Tumbler Ridge school attack in Canada revealed the harrowing way they discovered the tragedy was happening

Tumbler Ridge shooting: Family of girl killed calls for victims to be remembered over shooter

The parents of a 12-year-old killed in the horror school massacre in Canada revealed the heartbreaking way they discovered something was wrong.

Kylie Smith, 12, was one of eight people killed by shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, on Tuesday – in the second-deadliest school shooting in Canadian history. The killer shot her mum and 11-year-old step-brother dead before opening fire in the library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in a small town in British Columbia. Kylie’s parents revealed her brother was also in the school that tragic day and he broke the news to them that something horrific was happening in their quiet town.

Jenny Geary and Lance Younge with their kids Kylie and Ethan

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Jenny Geary and Lance Younge with their kids Kylie and Ethan(Image: Handout)

 

The teenager’s dad Lance Younge said he dropped Kylie and her brother Ethan, 15, off at Tumbler Ridge that morning as usual. Later in the day he and the kids’ stepmother Jenny Geary received a call and message from Ethan.

Jenny, speaking to CTV News, said: “Ethan had called about 3.05pm, after he had text messaged saying I love you and he called and said he was in a utility room and that he was hiding and that he didn’t know where Kylie was.”

 

Image of Kylie Smith

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Kylie Smith, 12, died after Tuesday’s horror mass shooting(Image: gofundme)

Heartbroken Lance paid a touching tribute to his little girl, saying: “She was just a beautiful soul, she’s a light in our family. She loved art and anime, she wanted to go to school in Toronto.

“We just loved her so much, she was thriving in high school, she never hurt a soul, she was a supporter, LGBTQ supporter. She was just the last person who ever deserved this.”

Lance and Kylie

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Lance said his girl was ‘a beautiful soul’(Image: Handout)

He recalled the last time he saw his daughter alive, when he dropped his kids off at school. Lance said: “I let her go to school with her brother, Ethan, in the morning I had soaked in that moment watching them walk in the door together for whatever reason and I didn’t know it would be the last time they’d go to school together.”

Another 27 people were injured in the massacre, which has shaken Canada and the tiny community of 3,000 people in the town. One of these victims includes Maya Gebala, 12, whose mum, Cia Edmonds, revealed was fighting for her life in hospital.

Mass shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar seen holding a rifle

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Mass shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar seen holding a rifle(Image: Facebook)

 

Cia shared a photo of her at her daughter’s bedside revealing it was unexpected that she would survive the night. The mum said: “We were warned that the damage to her brain was too much for her to endure, and she wouldn’t make the night.

 

Pupils walking out of the school after the massacre

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Pupils walking out of the school after the massacre(Image: AP)

 

“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. Our baby needs a miracle.”