In a sterile hospital room thousands of miles from her quiet mountain home, Cia Edmonds sits beside the bed of her 12-year-old daughter Maya Gebala, surrounded by the relentless beeps of machines keeping the brave little girl alive.

“I never thought I would be asking for prayers,” the devastated mother wrote in a raw Facebook post that has now been shared hundreds of thousands of times. “But please please, pray for my baby.”

Doctors had warned the family she might not survive the first night. The damage from two gunshot wounds — one to the head, one to the neck — was described as “too much for her to endure”. Yet here Maya is, two weeks after the nightmare, still fighting with every ounce of that feisty spirit her family always knew she had.

An entire remote Canadian community is holding its breath. The tiny town of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia — population just 2,000 — has been shattered to its core by one of the deadliest school shootings in the country’s history. And at the centre of the miracle everyone is praying for is a heroic 12-year-old who tried to lock the library door to save her classmates.

THE DAY TUMBLER RIDGE CHANGED FOREVER

It was Tuesday, February 10, 2026 — an ordinary school day in the snow-dusted Peace River Country of northeast British Columbia.

Maya, a bright Grade 7 student at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School who loved drawing, spending time with friends and dreaming of one day becoming a veterinarian, had no idea her life was about to be changed forever.

At around 2:20pm local time, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar — a former student at the same school who had dropped out years earlier — walked into the building armed with a modified rifle and another long gun.

First she had already unleashed horror at her family home just 1.5 kilometres away, killing her own mother, 39-year-old Jennifer Strang, and her 11-year-old half-brother.

Then she turned her rage on the school.

In the library, chaos erupted. Students screamed and dived for cover. Maya, showing the incredible bravery that has now made her a symbol of hope, ran to the door and desperately tried to lock it to protect the other children.

She didn’t make it in time.

The gunman opened fire. Maya was hit in the head and neck. She collapsed but, in an astonishing act of will, managed to move her finger — a tiny movement her terrified friends spotted. Risking their own lives, they dragged her out of the library and carried her to safety as the lockdown began.

Six other students and one heroic education assistant, 39-year-old Shannda Aviugana-Durand, were not so lucky. In total, eight people lost their lives that day — including the shooter, who turned the gun on herself as police closed in. Another 27 were injured.

Four brave RCMP officers arrived within minutes, drawing fire away from students in what colleagues have called an act of pure heroism.

Within hours, the tiny town was on lockdown. An Alert Ready emergency message blared across phones: “Shelter in place.” Parents waited in agony outside police cordons, not knowing if their children were alive.

For Cia Edmonds and Maya’s father David Gebala, the wait was pure hell.

‘MY BABY IS FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE’ — THE MOTHER’S AGONISING VIGIL

By evening, the family received the news every parent dreads.

Maya had been airlifted more than 1,000 kilometres south to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver — one of Canada’s top paediatric trauma centres. She was in critical condition. Doctors performed emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.

“I’m writing this post sitting in Vancouver Children’s Hospital while my daughter fights for her life,” Cia wrote that first night, her words breaking hearts across the country and beyond.

“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… She was a lucky one, I suppose. Condolences to the other families during this tragedy.”

She added the line that would go viral: “I never imagined I’d be begging like this… Please, pray for my child.”

Cia has barely left Maya’s bedside since. In video updates posted from the hospital room, the exhausted but determined mother films her daughter’s tiny movements — a flickering eyelid, a twitch of the hand — as proof that their girl is still there.

On Saturday, February 21, came the moment the family had been praying for. Maya opened one eye.

“She’s responding and moving around, and she is moving her hands,” Cia said in an emotional video, her voice cracking with a mixture of exhaustion and hope.

Hours later, Maya faced yet another emergency — fluid building up on her brain. She was rushed into surgery again. A drain was placed. The procedure was successful.

Her father David wrote on the family’s GoFundMe: “Every single day, you show us just how strong, determined, and incredible you truly are… You continue to defy every expectation the doctors and surgeons once prepared us for. We were told we only had hours and yet here you are, still fighting, still with us.”

THE HEROIC LITTLE GIRL WHO PUT OTHERS FIRST

Those who know Maya say her actions in the library were no surprise.

“She’s a feisty little girl who is brave and strong,” her cousin Krysta Hunt told reporters. “She tried to lock that door to save the other kids, then ran under a table. That’s just who Maya is.”

Her friends — the same ones who risked everything to carry her out — have been visiting the family, sharing stories of how Maya always looked out for the younger ones, always had a smile, always stood up for what was right.

Now those same friends are wearing green ribbons — Maya’s favourite colour — and lighting candles at nightly vigils in Tumbler Ridge.

The remote coal-mining town, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone. Neighbours leave casseroles on doorsteps. Kids play hockey on frozen ponds. The school is the heart of the community.

Now it is a crime scene. Portable classrooms have been brought in so lessons can eventually resume. Trauma counsellors are on site. The flag flies at half-mast.

A GO FUND ME THAT HAS EXPLODED WITH LOVE

Krysta Hunt set up the GoFundMe just hours after the shooting to help with travel costs, lost wages and the long road to recovery that lies ahead.

As of February 23, it has raised more than $450,000 — an astonishing sum for a town of 2,000 people, but a testament to how Maya’s story has touched hearts worldwide.

Donations have poured in from across Canada, the United States, Australia, the UK and beyond. Messages of support arrive every minute.

One donor from London wrote: “I don’t know Maya but I’m a mum and I can’t stop crying. Praying for your beautiful warrior.”

Even the UFC has sent support, with fighters and staff posting messages of solidarity after hearing about the brave little girl.

THE SHOOTER: A TROUBLED 18-YEAR-OLD WITH A DARK ONLINE HISTORY

Jesse Van Rootselaar, born in 2007, was well known to local authorities.

She had a long history of mental health struggles — multiple involuntary hospitalizations under British Columbia’s Mental Health Act, incidents of self-harm, and frequent calls to police.

She had dropped out of Tumbler Ridge Secondary four years earlier. Online, she posted disturbing content — videos glorifying guns and violence, reposts about school shootings, and even a Roblox simulator of a mall massacre.

She used powerful psychedelics including DMT and magic mushrooms. Her ChatGPT account was banned by OpenAI in 2025 after repeated violent queries — but authorities were never notified.

She held an expired minor’s firearms licence. Guns seized from the family home in previous years had been returned just a month before the attack.

No motive has been released, and police say there is no evidence she was bullied at school. The investigation continues.

In a country with some of the strictest gun laws in the world, the shooting has shocked the nation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has visited the town and promised a full review of firearms licensing.

‘WE WERE TOLD SHE WOULDN’T MAKE IT’ — THE MEDICAL MIRACLE UNFOLDING

Back in Vancouver, Maya continues to defy the odds.

She is now breathing on her own. She has opened an eye. She moves her hands. She has undergone multiple surgeries.

Doctors remain cautious — the road to recovery will be long, with possible lasting effects on speech, mobility and cognition. But every small victory is celebrated like a miracle.

Cia and David take turns at her bedside, playing her favourite music, reading her school reports, whispering stories about their life back home — the family dog, the mountain hikes, the way Maya could make everyone laugh.

In one heartbreaking update, Cia wrote: “I can feel her in my heart. I can feel her saying it’s going to be ok… She’s here. For how long we don’t know.”

A COMMUNITY UNITED IN PRAYER AND PAIN

Back in Tumbler Ridge, the pain is raw but the love is overwhelming.

Vigils are held every evening at the community centre. Children release balloons. Parents hug a little tighter when they drop their kids at temporary classrooms.

The fathers of two victims — one who lost his 12-year-old son, another whose daughter is still fighting — met this week and embraced. “We encouraged one another,” one said.

Local businesses have offered free meals to families. Truckers have delivered supplies. Churches from across British Columbia have sent pastors to counsel the grieving.

And everywhere you look, green ribbons and signs reading “Pray for Maya”.

Even strangers are joining in. A group in Toronto organised a virtual prayer chain that has reached more than 50,000 people.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR A BRAVE LITTLE WARRIOR

No one knows exactly what recovery will look like for Maya.

There will be months — perhaps years — of physiotherapy, speech therapy, and specialist care. The family may need to relocate temporarily to Vancouver for treatment.

But those who know her have no doubt she will face it with the same courage she showed in that library.

“She’s our hero,” Cia told supporters. “Now it’s our turn to be hers.”

The wider Gebala-Edmonds family — aunts, uncles, cousins from Kamloops and beyond — have rallied around, taking turns to support Cia so she can rest.

David posts daily updates on the GoFundMe, each one ending with the same message: “Thank you for loving our girl. Keep praying. Miracles are happening.”

A NATION’S HEARTBREAK — AND A MOTHER’S UNBREAKABLE HOPE

School shootings are mercifully rare in Canada. This one has hit especially hard because it happened in such a tight-knit, peaceful community.

Politicians from all parties have spoken of the need for better mental health support for young people. Gun control groups and hunting associations alike have called for answers.

But for Cia Edmonds, none of that matters right now.

All that matters is the little girl in the hospital bed who opened her eye this week.

All that matters is the prayer she types with shaking hands every single night: “Please, God, give us more time with our baby.”

The caption that started it all — “I Never Imagined I’d Be Begging Like This… Please, Pray for My Child” — has become a rallying cry.

Millions have answered.

And somewhere in a Vancouver hospital room, a 12-year-old fighter is listening.

Maya Gebala is still here.

And the whole world is praying she stays.