12-year-old girl shot in head, neck by trans Tumbler Ridge school shooter survives surgery, fundraiser hits over $63,000

A young girl critically injured in Tuesday’s Tumbler Ridge school shooting in British Columbia has been identified as 12-year-old Maya. A GoFundMe set up for the girl’s medical expenses has raised over $63,000 in less than 24 hours.

Maya’s mother, Cia Edmunds, wrote that her daughter had received a gunshot wound to the back of the head and to the neck. "Today started as any other. Now, however, my 12 year old daughter is fighting for her life while they try to repair the damage from a gun shot wound to the head. And one to the neck.. She was a lucky one, I suppose. Condolences to the other families during this tragedy. This doesnt even feel real. I never thought I would be asking for prayers.. but please please, pray for my baby," she wrote. 

She added in an update Wendesday, "What started as a normal day has now tapered into hours and minutes. What felt like a shred of hope, feels as fragile as life itself, but we just cant give up hope.. so we wait. Our amazing team believes she cant make possibly make it... but we wait, and we keep hoping. Thank you for anyone who has taken the time to send your wishes. We need a miracle."

Krysta Hunt, the cousin of Maya’s mother, wrote in the fundraiser that the "recovery timeline is unknown. All we know is that Maya made it through transport from Tumbler Ridge to Vancouver Children’s Hospital and currently in critical care." The fundraiser was set up to "provide for Maya through her recovery" and allow her mother "to be by her side without financial concern." 

Hunt wrote earlier on Wednesday that Maya underwent surgery on Tuesday to help stop the bleeding and made it through the night. "She is such a fighter," she wrote, later adding, "This is just the first step towards recovery."

Nine people were killed and 25 others injured after a gunman opened fire at the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a nearby residence at around 1:20 pm local time on Tuesday. The gunman, who was identified by a family member as Jesse Strang, is also dead. Online, Strang wrote about being transgender, taking SSRIs, and being suicidal because he could not access cross-sex hormones.