Maya Gebala (13) leaves hospital after Tumbler Ridge shooting, 262 days after near-fatal injury
Maya Gebala, 13, shot three times in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, is being released from hospital after nearly nine months of recovery.
Tumbler Ridge shooting survivor Maya Gebala discharged after 262 days in hospital
Maya Gebala, the 13-year-old girl critically injured in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, is leaving B.C. Children's Hospital after nearly nine months of treatment, her father announced Thursday, according to globalnews.ca.
David Gebala shared a Facebook video of his daughter in a wheelchair, visibly excited as he tells her she will be going home. "It's been 262 days since you were airlifted to B.C. Children's Hospital," he wrote in the accompanying post. "262 days since we were told, 'We did everything we could, but we don't think she's going to make it through the night.'"
He added: "Since then, I've watched you fight for every single one of those days."
The family has not spoken directly to media but has regularly shared updates through public social media posts and videos.
Court documents filed in April 2026 in California detail the extent of Maya's injuries: she was shot three times, and a bullet struck her skull, shattering bone fragments through her brain. Those documents are part of a lawsuit filed by her family against tech firm OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging their roles in the deadly February mass shooting. OpenAI has requested the case be dismissed.
In May, the family disclosed that Maya had undergone a cranioplasty — a fifth surgery since the shooting — in which a prosthetic barrier was installed to address swelling and deflation resulting from her damaged skull.
In the months that followed, the family posted videos of Maya on outings throughout Vancouver, no longer confined to the hospital ward. Those included her 13th birthday celebrations in September, when she attended a Foo Fighters concert at B.C. Place and marked the occasion with cake and games.
Earlier posts from Maya's mother had indicated the family would likely need to relocate permanently to Vancouver so Maya could continue receiving care, though it remains unclear whether that remains the plan following her discharge.
Source: Google News CA — Crime (EN)