Today we are holding the Tumbler Ridge community, and the wider South Peace region, in our hearts. We are thinking of the lives lost, those who are injured and receiving care in hospital, and all who are carrying shock and grief in the wake of this violence.
What has unfolded is being felt across British Columbia as a profound loss. In a majestic, small northern community, a mass casualty event reaches far beyond the immediate moment. It touches classrooms, homes, workplaces, families, and the quiet spaces where people, adults, youth, and children, are no doubt trying to make sense of what has happened and what comes next.
On behalf of our team at Battered Women’s Support Services, this is to express deep respect for the leadership being shown locally. Earlier today, I reached out privately to Mayor Darryl Krakow and Tumbler Ridge City Council, whom we had the opportunity to meet with last summer, to offer care and solidarity as they support their community through an unimaginably difficult time. Municipal leaders carry both the human weight of grief and the responsibility to guide communities forward, and that work deserves recognition.
We also send love and gratitude to our anti-violence colleagues on the ground across the South Peace, including the teams at South Peace Community Resources Society, Mizpah Transition House, and regional Victim Services, along with educators, advocates, and community organizations who are already holding people with care. In northern communities especially, support networks are deeply interconnected, and the work of frontline staff often happens quietly, with immense compassion and strength.
Mass casualty events can change how safety is felt in everyday places, neighbourhoods, schools, homes, workplaces, and public spaces. As organizations committed to survivor-centred public safety and trauma-informed and violence-informed practice, we know that communities need space for collective grieving as much as they need coordinated response. Healing is relational and we join you as part of the human family in grief and resolve.
For now, we stand alongside the children, youth, families, the students, the workers, and everyone affected. May we move gently with one another, hold space for grief, and remember that care and community connection are part of how safety is rebuilt.
Angela Marie MacDougall
Executive Director, on behalf of the BWSS Team
Ways to Offer Support
For those who are looking for ways to offer support, the following community and family fundraisers have been established to assist those impacted:
Tumbler Ridge PAC – Supporting Families Affected
https://www.gofundme.com/f/tumbler-ridge-strong
Support for Maya’s Recovery
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-mayas-recovery
Support for Kylie’s Mom and Family
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-kylies-mom-family
