Tumbler Ridge, B.C., shooting victim Abel Mwansa Jr. laid to rest in Zambia

A casket containing the body of 12-year-old Abel Mwansa Jr., a victim of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting whose burial is scheduled for Monday, is shown during his repatriation to Zambia in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Mandatory Credit)

A 12-year-old boy killed in a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., last month has been laid to rest after a funeral in the African country of Zambia, after his father told of his forgiveness for his son’s killer.

Abel Mwansa Jr.’s family moved from Zambia to Tumbler Ridge in 2023, and the boy was among eight people killed in the remote northeastern town on Feb. 10.

There was loud wailing from mourners as the closed blue casket was brought into a church in Kitwe, Zambia, in a video of Monday’s service shared by Mwansa’s father, also named Abel Mwansa.

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The boy’s casket was later shown being lowered into a grave as mourners sang hymns and recited prayers.

The father said on Facebook on Friday ahead of the funeral that even in his dreams, he was “weeping uncontrollably” at his son’s loss.

“My desire is to see you smile, while telling the perpetrator that I forgive you,” he wrote.

Canadian and Zambian officials have said the boy’s body arrived in Zambia by plane on Saturday, and Mwansa said he was “eternally grateful to the Canadian and Zambian governments” for their support.

Jesse Van Rootselaar shot dead her mother and 11-year-old half-brother at their home almost three weeks ago, before going to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School where she killed five students, an educational assistant and then herself.

Private funerals for some of the other victim have been held.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 2, 2026.