Tumbler Ridge's Deepest Grief: Families Speak of Vibrant Children Gone Too Soon
“It’s not something we expected to see in a small community,” Tumbler Ridge Mayor Darryl Krakowka told CBC in a livestream interview Tuesday evening, shortly after the lockdown was lifted. “This community is a very strong, family-focussed community and it’s devastating news today” – words that underscore the tight bonds he described as “one big family,” where he likely knows every victim.
On February 10, in the town of around 2,700 residents, nestled in the foothills of the Rockies, an 18-year-old resident carried out a shooting which claimed nine lives – including five students and a teacher at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, plus two family members at a home – before the suspect died by suicide. Twenty-seven others were injured, according to RCMP.
The sense of family Krakowka described is already showing in the response.
Trent Ernst, publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines – who was on the ground capturing the chaos – spoke Wednesday morning in a Facebook livestream with the former editor of the Chetwynd Echo, Naomi Larsen.
“[It’s] really been hitting hard this morning,” Ernst said. “It’s that six degrees of separation that people talk about. In Tumbler Ridge, it’s one degree, two degrees at most. Everybody knows everybody or knows somebody who knows everybody. So that makes it really hard.”
In addition to his role at Tumbler RidgeLines, Ernst is a local photographer who routinely photographs community events, kids sports and so on. This connection to the community made him a sought-after source for media outside Tumbler Ridge itself. As a result, he hadn’t had much time to do his own reporting but did his best to keep the Tumbler RidgeLines Facebook page updated.
Then he saw the social media post about the Go Fund Me for one of the children who was shot and taken to BC Children’s Hospital for surgery.
“And I know her – this is not just some random kid – it was such a gut punch.”
Although families began sharing stories of their children even before the RCMP officially released the names, each tribute painted a vivid picture of young lives full of love, energy, and promise – Abel Mwansa, Ezekiel Schofield, Kylie Smith, Zoey Benoit, Ticaria Lampert, and educator Shannda Aviugana-Durand – now confirmed as the victims killed at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. These parents’ words, posted amid unimaginable grief, remind us that behind every name is a dearly loved child whose absence has left families shattered, struggling to comprehend a reality forever changed.
Kylie Smith, 12, was an artist who loved anime, and was thriving in high school. She dreamed of one day attending school in Toronto.
“Hold your kids tight, tell them you love them every day. You never know, you never know,” Kylie’s father Lance Younge told reporters.
Ticaria Lampert, 12, “was such a loving, courageous, humourous, one-of-a-kind kiddo” Kenesha Mercredi wrote on the GoFundMe fundraiser page for Ticaria’s family.
“Hold your loved ones tight. Tell your babies you love them.”
Abel Mwansa,12, was an outgoing boy who loved school, his community and his faith. According to posts by his mother, he was looking forward to going to youth group on Tuesday afternoon, because “he loved the Lord.”
On Facebook, Abel’s father, Pastor Mwansa thanked the Lord “for the 12 years and 11 months we spent with you.”
Thirteen-year-old Ezekiel Schofield, loved hockey, and according to his grandfather, had an adventurous spirit.
“Ezekiel was an amazing child who always had a smile on his face.”
A fourth 12-year-old, Zoey Benoit, was also killed on Tuesday. In a Facebook post on Thursday, her mother, Lori, described Zoey as a beautiful, strong-minded girl who “loved art, to play with her siblings, she also had a beautiful singing voice that she didn’t realize she had.”
Two girls are in hospital in Vancouver, according to their GoFundMe fundraisers. Maya Gebala, 12, like Ezekiel, is a hockey player, described as a “strong defender”, “focussed, brave and always ready to protect her team on the ice.”
Maya was shot in the head and neck and underwent surgery upon arrival at Vancouver Children’s Hospital. The latest update on her GoFundMe page offers a glimmer of hope amid the uncertainty: doctors are seeking a second opinion on her prognosis, but in the meantime, “She’s moved!! It’s stimulus, a kick, a hand move, but it’s something!! It’s truly something new in almost 48 hours,” her mother, Cia Edmonds, reports.
Paige Hoekstra, 19, sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and underwent surgery in Vancouver. On the GoFundMe page set up by her brother Nicholas, he shared the family’s shock: “Yesterday everything changed for our family. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around it. It all happened so fast.”
By Thursday afternoon, Paige’s sister Leann Fletcher posted on Facebook that the surgery was successful and Paige is now recovering. She shared a message from Paige herself: “I want to tell everyone that I am okay and I am recovering.”
The first two victims, Jennifer Jacobs, 39, and Emmett Jacobs, 11, were found at a residence on Fellers Avenue, and are described as the shooter’s mother and stepbrother.
These heartfelt tributes are a painful but vital part of the grieving process for families. Yet the same platforms that carry these memories can also cause unintended harm when unverified information spreads unchecked.
Urging restraint on social media amid a flood of unverified posts, Ernst warned: “What would happen if a parent didn’t know their kid was shot and found out about it on Facebook? That would be one of the most horrendous things I can think of.”
Yet even as he called for sticking to official sources, Ernst highlighted acts of kindness unfolding in real time—like a woman bringing therapy horses from Fort St. John to help children and families process their grief through animal-assisted support.
“There are people out there, whose hearts are breaking for this community,” he said. People who want to do anything they can to help, to spread kindness and love in what is likely Tumbler Ridge’s darkest hour.
That rush of compassion is showing up in donations to the various fundraisers.
The GoFundMe started by the Tumbler Ridge Parent Advisory Committee, to assist the families with unexpected expenses, supporting daily needs, help with funeral costs, mental health supports and more has raised $348,750 as of 5 p.m. on February 12.
This is just one of several fundraisers started by members of the Tumbler Ridge community, and family members of the victims.
If you want to help the families and the victims of Tuesday’s shooting, here is a list of fundraisers put together by members of the community and region:
For Maya: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-maya-in-her-road-to-recovery
For TRSS: https://www.gofundme.com/f/community-of-tumbler-ridge
For Paige: https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-paige-and-her-road-to-recovery
For Kylie: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-kylies-mom-family
For Ticaria: https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-costs-bee68
For Abel: https://www.gofundme.com/f/abel-junior
For Zoey: https://www.gofundme.com/f/zoey-benoit
The Northeast Community Foundation has established a Tumbler Ridge Community Resilience Fund, to provide sustained, community-guided support in the months and years ahead. Long-term care, the Foundation explains in a press release announcing the fund, requires ongoing resources, coordination and care. The initiatives and programs will be guided by local leadership and meet the community’s evolving needs.
To contribute, please visit www.nebccf.ca and click the “Donate” button or contact the Northeast BC Community Foundation at 250.784.8748 ext. 104.
The Lakeview Credit Union has set up an official donation at account to coordinate aid, and donations can be made at any branch of the Lakeview Credit Union, including Tumbler Ridge, Dawson Creek and Chetwynd, or by e-transfer to TRStrong@lvcu.ca.
Mayor Darryl Krakowka captured the town’s resolve on CBC Tuesday: “We’re one big family here... give them a hug and make sure that people know that we’re here for them.” On Friday, February 13, that family will gather for a vigil in Tumbler Ridge, joined by Prime Minister Mark Carney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet in a show of national solidarity.