If you read anything today about the #TumblerRidge shooting today, please let it be this.

[chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca]

If you read anything today about the #TumblerRidge shooting today, please let it be this. From the mother of a child fighting for her life in BC Children's Hospital:

“Edmonds says she was friends with Strang and used to babysit the shooter — 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar — as a child.

Edmonds told CBC News she weeps for all the people affected by the tragedy that unfolded in Tumbler Ridge, including Strang.

Edmonds says she watched the single mother, who she said worked long shifts at a nearby mine, fight to help her child.

Edmonds says at one point, Van Rootselaar tried to light a mattress on fire "and burn the house down." She said the teen had been hospitalized several times with mental health issues.

"People are trying to politicize what this is about," Edmonds said "It's not about guns. It's not about [being trans] ... It's about mental health. It's about a lack of resources."

"[Strang] really — I truly believe that in her heart — did everything she could to try to help … I know that she struggled."

#Compassion #MentalHealth #Fact #Truth #Community

Mother of critically injured Tumbler Ridge victim says she feels compassion for shooter’s mother | CBC News

Maya Gebala's parents are by the 12-year-old's side taking strength from well-wishers. They are urging Canadians to support Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooting victims and to avoid politicizing the tragedy.

CBC (www.cbc.ca)