A 12 year old girl badly injured in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting tried to lock a library door to protect other students, according to her family. That detail has turned Maya Gebala into a symbol of courage as her community continues to grieve one of Canada’s deadliest school attacks in years.
Global News reported that Maya’s aunt, Krysta Hunt, said the seventh grader tried to secure the library from the shooter before hiding under a table. Hunt said Maya was then seriously wounded and rushed for emergency care.
What her family says happened
According to Global News, Hunt said Maya remained in extreme critical condition after surgery and doctors were closely watching how she responded. Family members described her as strong, feisty, and deeply loved.
Later updates from Global News said Maya continued to survive the early critical phase and showed signs of progress in the weeks after the shooting. That made her story even more personal for people across British Columbia who were already following the tragedy closely.
The attack that shocked Tumbler Ridge
The shooting happened on February 10 at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a nearby home in the small northeastern British Columbia community. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said investigators were working across both scenes as they tried to piece together the full timeline.
The Associated Press reported that eight victims were killed in total, along with the shooter, in the remote town of roughly 2,700 people. Reuters and AP both described the attack as one of the deadliest school related shootings in recent Canadian history.
Why Maya’s story is resonating so strongly
In a tragedy filled with grief, Maya’s reported attempt to protect classmates has become a rare point of light. It speaks to the instinct some children have to help others, even in terrifying moments. That is an interpretation based on her family’s account and the public response that followed.
Her story has also given many people in Tumbler Ridge someone to root for as the town keeps mourning those who were killed. In March, local Member of Parliament Bob Zimmer publicly named Maya while honoring the victims and families, showing how her fight had become part of the wider story of loss and resilience.
Where the investigation stands
The RCMP said in an official update that officers and forensic teams were still processing evidence days after the shooting. Authorities have continued to release information carefully as the case moved from emergency response to full investigation. Readers can follow official updates through the BC RCMP investigative update.
For many families, though, the most important part of this story is no longer the suspect. It is the children, the teacher, the survivors, and the acts of courage that are still coming into view. Maya Gebala’s reported attempt to protect her classmates is now one of the clearest examples of that.