Eight people, including six children, were killed on Tuesday in a deadly mass shooting that rocked Tumbler Ridge, a small, close-knit community located in British Columbia.
The suspected shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who police say killed her 39-year-old mother and 11-year-old stepbrother at a nearby home before opening fire at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, was also found dead with a “self-inflicted injury.”
Police said the teenager was born biologically male but had been transitioning to female over the past six years. She was not a student at the school, and it was not immediately clear if she had previously studied at Tumbler Ridge Secondary.
Two victims with “significant injuries” were airlifted to the hospital.
Paige Hoekstra, who was taken to Vancouver for treatment, is now on the road to recovery, according to her family.
open image in gallery“Paige had suffered one gunshot wound to the chest and has since undergone surgery to repair/assess damage, but she is officially out of danger and in recovery,” her sister wrote on a GoFundMe page. “Her whole family is here to support her through her recovery to get back to the Paige we all know and love.”
Here is everything we know about the victims of the shooting:
Abel Mwansa Jr.
The son of a pastor, Abel Mwansa Jr., was killed Tuesday, according to police and an announcement from Burning Bush Ministries International – City of Grace Chapel shared on Facebook.
open image in gallery“This loss has brought profound grief to the family, the church, and all who knew and loved him. We kindly ask the Christian community, friends, and well-wishers to stand with the Mwansa family in prayer, love, and support during this difficult time,” the announcement read.
The boy’s parents, pastor Abel Mwansa and Bwalya Chisanga, mourned their son on social media, writing in a post that he will be greatly missed.
Mwansa said in another post that his son was a “good kid” who never missed school, writing in all caps, “Lord I thank you for 12 years 11 months we spent with you.”
Ezekiel Schofield
Ezekiel Schofield, 13, was among those killed.
open image in gallery“We feel absolutely broken,” his grandfather Peter Schofield wrote on Facebook, the Toronto Star reports.
“Everything feels so surreal. The tears just keep flowing. So many young lives were ended so needlessly. Our hearts are broken not only for Eziekiel, but for every family affected by this tragedy.”
Kylie Smith
Kylie Smith was remembered as a “beautiful, kind, innocent soul” on a GoFundMe page created by Kylie’s aunt, Shanon Dycke.
open image in gallery“We are completely devastated and have no words as we try to process the magnitude of the situation,” Dycke wrote.
The fundraiser was created to cover expenses for Kylie’s family in the coming months, including a way to memorialize Kylie, which has yet to be planned.
“My heart aches for the other families involved and for the loss of their children. I am so sorry,” Dycke wrote. “To the families with children still in the hospital; keep fighting. We are sending you prayers.”
Zoey Benoit
Benoit, 12, was “resilient, vibrant, smart, caring and the strongest little girl you could meet,” according to a family statement shared by police.
open image in gallery“She brought so much laughter and smiles in her presence,” the statement added. “She loved spending time with her family where she could show her love.”
Ticaria Lampert
The slain 12-year-old, known by the nickname “Tiki,” was one of seven siblings.
"Ticaria (Tiki) was such a loving, courageous, humorous, one of a kind kiddo and her life was cut short at only 12 years of age," according to a GoFundMe organized by Tumbler Ridge resident Kenesha Mercredi.
Shannda Aviugana-Durand
Thirty-nine-year-old Shannda Aviugana-Durand, an educator at the school, was also killed.
"RIP Shannda love you until we meet again,” family member Johnny Aviugana wrote in a Facebook post, obtained by Canadian Press.
Family members Emmett Jacobs and Jennifer Jacobs
open image in galleryBefore the shooting at the school, the suspected shooter allegedly killed her stepbrother, Emmett Jacobs, 11, and her mother, Jennifer Jacobs, 39, at a nearby house.
open image in galleryMultiple students injured in attack
Family members have named Paige Hoekstra and Maya Gebala as among those injured in the shooting.
Krysta Hunt, the cousin of Maya’s mother, Cia Edmonds, organized a GoFundMe page to support the 12-year-old girl through her recovery. More than $192,700 has already been raised.
“All we know is that Maya made it through transport from Tumbler Ridge to Vancouver Children’s Hospital and currently in critical care,” Krysta wrote on the page verified by CNN. The Independent has not verified the fundraiser, and authorities have yet to release the names of those injured in the shooting.
In a note from Maya’s mother included on the page, she said her daughter is “fighting for her life while they try to repair the damage” from a gunshot wound to the head and neck.
Edmonds said in an update, “What felt like a shred of hope, feels as fragile as life itself, but we just cant give up hope.”
