Maya Gebala started her Tuesday like any other school day at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School on Monkman Way in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The 12-year-old arrived focused on classes and friends at the small campus serving grades 7 to 12 in the remote northeastern community. Nothing prepared her or anyone for the violence that erupted shortly after lunchtime.
The shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, had already killed his mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at a nearby private residence earlier that afternoon. He then made his way to the school, entering the building armed and beginning a rampage through hallways and classrooms. Students and staff scrambled for safety as gunfire rang out in the confined spaces of the rural secondary school.
Chaos gripped the school as the attacker moved methodically. Maya became one of the victims struck during the assault, suffering gunshot wounds to her head and neck according to her mother’s account. The injuries left her in critical condition amid the terror that claimed multiple lives inside the building on Monkman Way.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene in the tight-knit town surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. Medics provided immediate aid to the wounded, including Maya, before arranging urgent airlift transport. She was flown hundreds of kilometers southwest to Vancouver Children’s Hospital for specialized trauma care, highlighting the severity of her condition far from local facilities.
At Vancouver Children’s Hospital, doctors worked intensively to stabilize Maya upon arrival. Her mother, Cia Edmonds, has remained constantly at her bedside, refusing to leave as medical teams address the life-threatening wounds. The vigil reflects the desperate hope amid a prognosis that has fluctuated in the days following the shooting.
Maya stands out in her community not just as a student but as a passionate hockey defender for the Tumbler Ridge Raptors under-13 team in the North East Recreational Hockey League. Known for her skill and determination on the ice, she brought the same spirit to school, making her fight for survival all the more poignant for those who knew her strength and joy in the sport.
