Tumbler Ridge shooting survivor leaving hospital, heading home

Tumbler Ridge shooting survivor Paige Hoekstra sits in a hospital bed. (Leann Fletcher)

One of the survivors of the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge is returning home.

A statement on a GoFundMe page for Paige Hoekstra Monday says doctors have run a series of post-surgery tests and say they’re confident it’s safe to bring her home to the community that’s still reeling from the violence last Tuesday.

The statement from the family says they “can’t begin to express how grateful” they are for everyone who supported them in the aftermath of the tragedy.

It says other families affected by the shooting can reach out to them for support.

Five students and an educator were killed at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School after the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed her mother and half-brother at their home.

Hoekstra was one of two victims with serious injuries who were flown out of the northeastern British Columbia community for care last week.

Twelve-year-old Maya Gebala remains in a Vancouver hospital with significant damage to her brain.

An update from her family posted online says she was moving more on her left side, and while it’s hard to say how she might recover, they are hopeful.