A community in Abbotsford, B.C., is grieving the loss of a 13-year-old girl who was stabbed to death inside her high school in what police are calling a “random” act.
Tributes are pouring in for 13-year-old Letisha Reimer, who died after she was stabbed multiple times shortly before the final bell rang at Abbotsford Secondary School on Tuesday.
Police say a shoeless man wielding a knife walked into the school and attacked Reimer and her 14-year-old friend. Reimer later died from her injuries. The other girl, who can’t be named due to a publication ban, is in hospital in stable condition.
Police say when they arrived, students were desperately trying to help the wounded girls. They also say staff managed to stop the attack.
Sgt. Jennifer Pound said others may have been harmed or killed if it wasn’t for the heroic efforts of staff and students.
“We are lucky not to have further individuals who were hurt in this,” Pound told reporters.
Many students were shaken by what they saw and heard.
Baneet Braich was in the computer lab when the incident unfolded. “I remember her screams, I remember her coming into the computer lab, (saying) ‘Help me, I’ve been stabbed,’” Braich told CTV News. “That image does not escape me.”
Another student, Shawn Wesley told CTV News that had left class and was in the hallway when he saw Reimer stabbed “four times in the side. So I just ran back to class.”
Police have identified the girls’ attacker as 21-year-old Gabriel Klein. It is early on in the investigation, but officers are calling the incident a “random act of violence,” as it appears Klein has no connections to the school.
Condolences are pouring in for Reimer’s family on Facebook and elsewhere online.
TREK Camp, a church organization to which Reimer belonged, paid tribute to the teen on its Facebook page. “Letisha continually brought so much joy, affections, energy, and life to those who had the privilege of spending the week with her up at camp,” the post read.
While the community tries to cope with the tragedy, several online fundraisers have been set up for the affected families.
Tara Nisenboym, whose son graduated from Abbotsford Secondary just last year, started a GoFundMe page for the families affected by the tragedy. She hopes to raise $10,000.
“I can’t imagine the pain that they’re going through at a time like this,” she told CTV Vancouver. “Losing a daughter or having a daughter in the hospital. They’re going to need funeral costs, transportation costs covered, medical costs, food, mortgage, rent.”
Mitch Banks is also organizing support for the families of the two teens, calling on all Abbotsford Senior graduates to band together. The online group now has more than 1,000 members, offering help from cooking to childcare.
“It’s not an easy time, they’ve got a long road ahead of them,” Banks said.
