It only took about three months for Abel Mwansa Jr. to lose his Zambian accent when he moved to Tumbler Ridge, B.C., an accomplishment that a family friend would tease him about for abandoning his promise.
Christopher Bwalya, a pastor with the Burning Bush Ministries in Solwezi, Zambia, is a close friend to the Mwansa family and watched Abel grow from a “sometimes mischievous” boy in kindergarten to a “respectful” and “responsible” leader at the church’s Sunday school.
The Mwansa family moved from Zambia to Tumbler Ridge in 2023 for career opportunities, but before they left, the boy made a promise to Bwalya that he would never change his Zambian accent.
“Three months down the line, Abel changed his accent,” said Bwalya said with a chuckle.
The 12-year-old boy was killed last week along with four other schoolchildren and a teacher’s aide at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, while dozens more were hurt.
Bwalya and the boy’s father, Abel Mwansa Sr., were both pastors at the City of Grace Chapel in the southern African country, and Bwalya said he spoke to the family then daily.
He maintained that connection when they moved away and they often spoke over the phone.
“So, (Abel), I feel you betrayed me,” Bwalya recounted the teasing conversation with the boy.
“I told him you should maintain the Zambian accent,” he said, as his voice quavered with emotion.
He said he was devastated after receiving the call last Tuesday about the boy’s murder.
The news left “everyone in tears,” remembering the boy with his beautiful smile, kindness, and love for people.
“Abel was a very respectful child, and I can attest to what the father said, Abel was a one-way instruction child, one instruction was good for Abel to get moving and getting to do the right thing,” said Bwalya, “Abel was a people person. He loved people.”
The death has left the family in “serious pain,” Bwalya said in an interview on Monday.
Police in Tumbler Ridge have said they’ve wrapped up their forensic investigations and yellow tape has been taken down around the school and at the home that shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar shared with her siblings and mother, Jennifer Jacobs.
Police say Van Rootselaar shot and killed Jacobs and 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs in the family home before going to the school.
RCMP said the school has been turned back over to the local school district.
The Peace River South school district said in a letter to parents on Friday that it would share plans for a children’s return to school over the next week.
“As we create our plans, the expectation is that we will not be returning to the current high school site,” district superintendent Christy Fennell said in the letter.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey told reporters on Sunday in advance of releasing the provincial budget Tuesday that the government will either use contingency funds or make adjustments in the education budget to follow through on a promise from Premier David Eby that the students don’t have to return to that school.
Bailey said the premier and multiple ministers have been in the community meeting with people.
“We have made those commitments and you’ll see us moving forward with them. Whether or not it’s in the budget, we do have contingencies,” she said.
In a statement acknowledging Family Day in British Columbia on Monday, Eby said the province is marking the holiday with heavy hearts.
“We ache for the families of Tumbler Ridge. We hold them in our prayers and stand with them in their pain and grief,” he said.
“On Family Day, we spend time with the people we love and who are important to us. This day offers us a chance to reflect on the importance of family, both the ones into which we are born and those we build. Family provides an anchor in uncertain times. May we all find comfort and support from our families.”
The family of 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who is in hospital with significant damage to her brain after being shot, said in an update posted online that she is moving more on her left side.
“Because of the damage and swelling surrounding it, it is hard to say how much response and deliberate function she will be able to regain, however, we are hopeful,” the update says.
Bwalya, the pastor in Zambia, said his church organized a celebration of life service on Sunday to honour and remember Abel.
He said Abel’s parents plan to return to Zambia to bury the body, although the dates and details haven’t been confirmed yet.
Bwalya said he can’t imagine the pain for his parents to be far away from their hometown while losing their child, and he asks those who live close by to give the family support.
“They are looking for a shoulder to cry on,” said Bwalya. “They need somebody to continue to speak to.”
— With files from Jack Farrell in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 16, 2026.
Nono Shen, The Canadian Press
