MAYA’S LAST MESSAGE: 12-year-old Maya Gebala tried to lock the library door to save her friends before the nightmare at Tumbler Ridge — her mother still agonizingly waited for her to call “Mama,” but the three-word message from the little girl before the incident silenced everyone
Mother of critically injured Tumbler Ridge victim says she feels compassion for shooter’s mother
12-year-old Maya Gebala remains in B.C. Children’s Hospital fighting for her life
Maya Gebala is seen in an undated photo. The 12-year-old was wounded in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooting at the school and remains in hospital in Vancouver. (David Gebala/Facebook)
For Maya Gebala’s parents, any movement their 12-year-old makes — even a tiny leg twitch — is reason to rejoice after their child was airlifted to hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
The Grade 7 student was shot at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Tuesday in an attack that left eight people dead, including students, an educator and the shooter’s mother and half-brother.
Video
Hundreds attend candlelight vigil as Tumbler Ridge mourns victims
Maya was airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver and has been fighting for her life since.
Her parents, Cia Edmonds and David Gebala, say Maya suffered at least three gunshot wounds to her head and neck. On Thursday, she made her first movements since undergoing emergency surgery, moving her left hand and leg, and coughing.
Her parents say doctors stopped sedating her, using only painkillers, to see how she would react.
WATCH | Maya Gebala’s parents hopeful their daughter will pull through:
Maya Gebala’s parents share their ordeal as she clings to life
February 14|
Duration9:14
As 12-year-old Tumbler Ridge shooting victim Maya Gebala clings to life in a Vancouver hospital, her parents talk about their agonizing ordeal and why they’re so convinced she’ll pull through.
Edmonds, 40, says she feels blessed her daughter survived and is urging Canadians to support all the families whose children or loved ones were killed or critically injured.
Social media posts documenting Maya’s progress have received thousands of comments. People have been moved by the image of the tween grinning in her hockey helmet, juxtaposed with the devastating reality of her bruised and bandaged face. A GoFundMe campaign has raised thousands of dollars for her care.
Cia Edmonds posted this image on social media of her resting her head on her daughter, Maya Gebala, 12. (Cia Edmonds and David Gebala)
It is painful for Maya’s parents to see this tenacious hockey player, who taught herself how to walk on stilts, now motionless.
“She’s way too stubborn to let this…” David Gebala said, his voice trailing off as he sobbed. “She’ll pull through this; I believe that she will.”
He says the thousands of well wishes from around the world have helped. But Maya’s parents are also troubled by social media posts that politicize this tragedy.
These are the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting
Suspect’s mother identified as 1 of 8 Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting victims
Gebala and Edmonds, his former partner, say they are frustrated that some of the posts have attracted angry comments directed at the mother of the shooter, Jennifer Strang, who was also killed in the massacre.
Edmonds says she was friends with Strang and used to babysit the shooter — 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar — as a child.
Edmonds told CBC News she weeps for all the people affected by the tragedy that unfolded in Tumbler Ridge, including Strang.
WATCH | ‘She’s still fighting’: Tumbler Ridge parents hopeful for recovery:
‘She’s still fighting’: Tumbler Ridge parents hopeful for recovery
February 13|
Duration1:14
Maya Gebala remains at Vancouver Children’s Hospital after being airlifted from Tumbler Ridge, B.C., following the deadly mass shooting on Monday. Her parents say they’re encouraged by small movements in their 12-year-old’s limbs, although doctors say she is still fighting for her life after sustaining gunshot wounds.
Edmonds says she watched the single mother, who she said worked long shifts at a nearby mine, fight to help her child.
Edmonds says at one point, Van Rootselaar tried to light a mattress on fire “and burn the house down.” She said the teen had been hospitalized several times with mental health issues.
