Parents identify some victims of Tumbler Ridge mass shooting

Shooting victims identified

Photo: Abel Mwansa / Facebook

Abel, 12, was one of the children killed by a mass shooter at Tumbler Ridge high school

The child victims of the mass shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School are starting to be identified on social media.

In a public post, Abel Mwansa said his 12-year-old son, also named Abel, is among the dead.

“Our son went to school this morning and it happened that someone came to school with a GUN went to my kids classroom shot some kids and my son was killed too just like that,” Mwansa said on Facebook in a post that has attracted more than 1,400 comments.

Mwansa said that his son loved being at school and cried recently at a suggestion that he be home schooled.

“This is a child that I have raised to respect elders, answer to one call, be strong, work hard, put a smile on the face like I do, focus on his studies, never miss school and to be a good kid.”

Mwansa said his son left home on Tuesday morning to be shot “like a stray dog murdered in cold blood.”

He is grateful for the 12 years and 11 months he got to spend with his son.

'Fighting for her life'

Tumbler Ridge mother Cia Edmonds, in her own post to Facebook, said she was at Vancouver Children's Hospital with her 12-year-old daughter, Maya, “fighting for her life” due to gunshot injuries.

“Today started as any other,” Edmonds said.

“Now, however, my 12-year-old daughter is fighting for her life while they try to repair the damage from a gunshot wound to the head. And one to the neck,” the post said.

“She was a lucky one, I suppose. Condolences to the other families during this tragedy. This doesn't even feel real.”

In a later post, Edmonds said her baby “needs a miracle.”

The deceased victims from the school include an adult female educator, three female students and two male students between the ages of 13 and 17. The shooter's mother and stepbrother was also killed at the family home.

Police said the youth who were killed in the school shooting would not be publicly identified by police without the consent of the families.

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