Eight people were killed in Tumbler Ridge by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, who had a history of mental-health interactions with police.
Two 12-year-old girls were best friends who did everything together. On Tuesday, in a small town in northeastern B.C., they died together.
Kylie Smith and Ticaria (Tiki) Lampert — along with several of their classmates — had their young lives cut short when a teenager went on a shooting rampage at their school in Tumbler Ridge.
They’re “besties forever in heaven,” said a tearful Kenesha Mercredi, a close friend of Tiki’s family. She said Tiki’s mom, Sarah Lampert, is struggling with the loss of her little “tiki torch, full of fire and beauty.”
A photograph of the two friends goofing around, with Kylie jumping on Tiki’s back, was taken just one day before the shooting.
“(Kylie and Tiki) were best friends and did everything together from sleepovers, sharing classes together, sharing secrets and sharing their last day together,” said Mercredi, who has organized a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help Lampert, a single mom, pay for her daughter’s funeral.
Mercredi described Tiki as “a loving, courageous, humorous, one-of-a-kind kiddo” whose life was cut short at such a young age. Tiki leaves behind seven siblings and a mother who adored her children, she added.
Neighbours are rallying to help Lampert take care of her other children, but Mercredi said the single mom will need financial help to pay for the funeral.
Eight people are dead, two remain in hospital and 25 were injured after the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge on Tuesday.
The shooter — 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar — who had a history of mental-health interactions with police, shot two people at home before heading to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where six people were found dead.
Two others were flown to hospital, while 25 were assessed for minor injuries. Rootselaar was found dead at the school from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In another post on GoFundMe, Shanon Dycke, Kylie’s aunt, said her family received the “gut-wrenching news” that she was killed on Tuesday.
“We are completely devastated and have no words as we try to process the magnitude of the situation,” she said, adding that Kylie was a “beautiful, kind, innocent soul.”
